Say You Won't Care
by Serpensortia Sweetie
Summary: Ginny wants nothing more than to see Harry, but Harry is in hiding. Tensions rise as she finds out that almost everyone knows but her. Will her determination and persuasion lead her to see Harry?
1. Spoiler Warning Disclaimer ect

Disclaimer/Setting explanation/Spoiler warning

**Disclaimer...**

I don't own Harry Potter etc. ... sigh, writing these gets so tiring. But I already had a story taken off that was supposedly not mine... but it DEFINITELY was. (I got suspended from posting and everything) So I don't own Harry Potter or any of the things that go along with it, but I did write this story, as I did with all my others...

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**SPOILER WARNING**

If you aren't done with the sixth book, this story takes place after the events in the book, and I mention the book's events quite a few times. Don't say I didn't warn you!

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**Setting explanation...**

Ok so this story is set during what would have been Harry's 7th year at Hogwarts, and Ginny's 6th. They did not return to the school, due to the events prior to the story, and safety reason (Obviously). The story starts out at the burrow, which I'm not sure if I mention in the first chapter. The story is set some time in November.

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So, now that I got all of that out of the way, on to the actual story! I really hope you like it! 

Thanks

_Jenna _


	2. I just can't tell you

Say you won't care 

"So Ron," Ginny said, watching her brother put his coat on from behind a copy of witch weekly, "Where are you off to at this hour of night?" She didn't even really have to ask, she knew where he was going and she knew he would lie about it...again. 

"I'm going out," he said plainly, trying to act normal. His usual routine. 

"Where exactly is out, my vague brother?" She asked trying to get more out of him. 

"None of your business, my nosey sister," he said matter-of-factly. 

Ginny thought for a moment, about what she could ask next, maybe to make him slip. She really needed to know, but nobody would tell her. "Ron, I know why you're going out all the time. I just don't know where you're going." 

Ron looked startled but kept his cool. "It's not important Ginny, don't worry about it." 

She slapped her magazine down on the table and snapped, "Not important, eh? I should think sneaking off to see your best friend would be a little more important to you!" 

"What makes you think that's where I'm going," he said with a know it all tone, but Ginny noticed him shift his feet nervously. 

"Because you won't tell me where you are going, and you won't tell me where he is either! I just sort of connect them together," she stated. 

"How do you know im not sneaking somewhere else?" 

"Where else would you be sneaking? You aren't the most mysterious person that you need to go off secretively into the night," She said with a laugh, "And I know you aren't sneaking off to snog Hermione!" 

"How do you know that?" 

"Because I write her everyday and the days I don't write she is here at the burrow!" 

"Well she doesn't tell you everything, Ginny!" 

Ginny looked at him questioningly, "What do you mean, she does so tell me everything." 

"Then she isn't telling you where she is going either," he said frustrated. "You always make me out to be the only bad guy, because I'm the only one you catch sneaking out to see Harry!" He shouted, then realizing what he had said. 

Ginny's eyes bugged out at what she had heard. "You're the only one I catch..." Ginny said more softly. "Hermione knows too? How many other people exactly know where he is?" 

"Not that many but... " 

"How many people in this family?" she asked sternly. 

"I rather not say, I don't want you pestering them either." 

"I'm not pestering you! I'm just asking normal questions. I don't see why this is a big deal." She said angrily, but you could hear the hurt tone in her voice. 

Ron sighed, knowing this was only going to get uglier, "Everyone but Percy," He said quietly looking down at the floor. 

"I don't understand this! I'm on the same level as Percy, our traitor of a brother! I don't understand why Mum, Dad, Fred, George... everyone can know but me!" 

"They all having reasons for knowing where he's hiding!" Ron stated. "Me and 'Moine know obviously, because we are his best friends and he needs us. Mum and Dad know because they wouldn't let me go unless they knew I would be safe. Especially mum, because she was weeping about Harry's safety until she knew where he was," he explained. "Fred and George are helping him out with defense things, with all those new inventions they are making. They've made him virtually untraceable. And, Bill and Charlie are in the order and are keeping him updated on all of the things going on with the Voldemort." 

Ginny's heart was feeling like it was ripped out. "Who else?" she asked downheartedly knowing there must be more. "Does Fleur know too?"She said sarcastically. 

Ron looked at her sympathetically, "... Lupin, Tonks, Mad-Eye, and McGonagall. And no, Fluer doesn't know." 

Ginny nodded slowly, "Our whole family knows and I'm not allowed." 

Ron shook his head saying no, and motioned for her to come and sit down on the couch with him. "It's too dangerous to tell more people than absolutely necessary, if anyone slips to the wrong person, he'd be dead within days. Everybody that knows has a specific reason for knowing." 

"I have every reason to know," she said. 

"Not really, Gin." 

"Because we are... well... because I love him," Ginny said and her eyes began to glaze with tears. 

Ron sighed sadly and put his arm around his little sister. "Ginny, you guys aren't together anymore. At the funeral he broke it off, you can't dwell on it like this. You're too young to know if you're in love anyway." 

"I'm not dwelling, I just can't think of a way to explain what this feels like." 

"Explain like what feels like?" He questioned. 

"Ok, look at it like this. You've liked Hermione since the end of second year right? Well, you're finally with her now, and I've never seen you so happy. It took you four years for you to get the girl you wanted. Have you told her you love her yet?" 

"Actually, yes I did. Just the other day..." he said smiling to himself, "She said it back too..." He reminisced on the moment for a while and he began to understand. 

"See what I mean. I have liked him for almost 7 years, I've had a longer wait than you. And, How would it feel if Hermione was pulled right from your grasp right after you got to hold her." 

"I understand completely, Ginny," He looked her in the eye. "I'm sorry for doubting that you love him, but it's been almost five months since you guy have broken up." 

"We never really broke up..." Ginny looked down. "He just wanted to end it to protect me or something noble like that." 

"And I respect that as your older brother. And, you should respect it too," he told her with a fatherly tone. 

"We are straying from the point here, Ron," she stated. "I'm not talking about whether or not it was right for us to break up, I just want to see him. I've never wanted anything this bad in my life." 

The yearning in her voice broke Ron's heart, but he made Harry a promise, "I just can't tell you, Ginny." He looked at her, "I'm really sorry." 

Tears filled her eyes and she quickly got up off the couch. She gave Ron one last fleeting look of despair, and she ran toward the front door of the burrow.

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(A/n- So, the sixth book... it just made me feel like writing this. Not exactly the most original, but pretty emotional, I think its gonna be about five chapters... but when I say that, I actually mean I really don't know how long its gonna be. Not too long though, because I don't want to wear out the topic. I hope you enjoyed it, read and review.) 

Thanks 

Jenna 


	3. She'll be ok

_**Say You Won't Care**_

_Chapter 2_

**She'll be ok...**

Ron watched as his sister retreated from the house just as Hermione aparated into the kitchen of the burrow. She smiled at him when she spotted him on the couch in the livingroom, and she walked over to him and sat down. When she got a good look at his face, her smile faded a bit. "Is everything alright?" she asked with concern.

He just signed rubbed his face with his hands. He looked at her and shook his head, his eyes becoming glassy. She put her hand on his cheek and asked what was wrong.

"It's Ginny, she just ran out of the house. She was asking about Harry again. She got really upset this time, and ran out of the house crying. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. I don't want to keep doing this to her..." he said, solemnly. "But I promised him I wouldn't tell..."

Hermione looked at him sympathetically and pulled him into a tight hug. "It alright, its not your fault you can't tell her. She'll be ok..." She assured him calmly. They pulled out of their hug and she asked, "Do you want me to go and talk to her?"

"She knows you know and haven't been telling her," Ron informed her blankly.

"She does? How?"

"It slipped, I think she's offended more than she is angry about it though," he said, "I'm really sorry."

"It's alright, I'll talk to her anyway. If she'll listen to me, I'm really good at calming her down."

"Thank you so much," he looked at her with a slight smile, "I don't know what I would do without you..."

"You don't have to thank me for anything, I'd do anything for you. Why don't you get some rest? You'll feel a lot better in the morning." She stroked his cheek gently.

"Are you staying here tonight?" He asked hopefully.

"No, I can't tonight, I told my parents I was just stopping by. Do you want me to come back in the morning," She said fluttering her eyelashes.

He smiled and nodded, "Of course I do," he said kissing her softly on the lips. "Alright, just tell Ginny that I'm really sorry again." He said quietly.

"I will," She assured him. She kissed him on the forehead and said goodnight.

"I love you, 'Mione."

"I love you too." She saidsincerely, then watched him stand up and walk over the stairs, giving her one last admiring look before walking up the steps. She sighed happily thinking about how great things were going between them. But, when she snapped out of her dreamlike state she remembered that Ginny was probably outside crying her eyes out. She thought for a second about how she would approach the situation, but she realized that this was something she just couldn't plan out...

She walked out the door, feeling guilty for lying to Ginny for months. She scanned the yard with her eyes, not seeing her anywhere. Then, her eyes spotted her, laying on the grass on the hill next to the broom shed. She had her head in her arms, and Hermione assumed she was crying.

She just wanted to run up to her, hug her, and tell her everything... but she knew she couldn't. She began walking towards her slowly, bracing herself for Ginny's emotions and hoping for the best.

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(A/n- Just a little Ron and Hermione fluff. hehe. Well I know this is a short chapter, but the truth is... I don't like to write long chapters... they take too long... go figure. Haha. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter too. The next one should be pretty emotional, I hope. And what's this with like 200 people going to my story page and only like 4 reviewing? Hrmmm. Oh well. Thanks for reading folks, and pleeaaase review! 

_Jenna _


	4. A Beautiful Letter

(A/n- So here's the deal, last night after my disk got ruined... I typed three pages and it was way late so I went to bed. I came back in the morning and attempted to continue writing, and then my computer did the same thing it did when it ate my last disk. So this is my last try, otherwise I may have to discontinue this story for the time being, until my computer stops destroying everything! So here goes, for the THIRD TIME!

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**_Chapter 3_**

**-A Beautiful Letter-**

Grass and fallen leaves crunched under Hermione's feet as she walked up the hill to where Ginny was laying. Ginny heard Hermione sit down next to her and slowly lifted her head.

Her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet with tears. "What do you want?"

Hermione felt terrible about what Ginny had been through the past five months, and every ounce of pain could be heard in her voice. "I just came to see if you were ok," Hermione said cautiously.

"Does it look like I'm ok, Hermione?" Ginny snapped.

Hermione couldn't think of anything to say. She thought for a while and figured there was now way to really get out of what happened. "You know what I meant, I mean... I just want to see if you wanted to talk, after what happened with Ron and all..."

"Now you want to talk! You weren't so keen on talking before!" Her eyes lit up with anger, and she sat up to face Hermione quickly.

"Calm down, Gin," Hermione said soothingly trying to get her friend to be rational, "You know why I can't tell you..."

Ginny sighed and shook her head, "I can understand that you can't tell me, I don't want you to put Harry's life in danger or go against his wishes... But what really kills me is that you have been playing the innocent one all along," each word was thick with the sound of disappointment. "You have been letting me bug Ron the whole time and when I came to you for comfort you would pretend that you didn't know anything." Ginny's voice saddened a bit, "What does it matter anyway. Where will being mad at you get me? It won't get me any closer to Harry, and it sure as hell won't make me feel any better. It will just leave me without anyone reasonable to talk to..."

Hermione gave her a half smile, relieved that Ginny wasn't going to hold this against her.

"My whole family knew..." Ginny said with a disbelieving laugh, "I just can't take it anymore."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked sincerely.

"I just don't know what to think anymore... about where he and I stand."

Hermione looked puzzled, "But, didn't you guys break up at the funeral last year?"

Ginny sighed, "Yes, but you only know about the breakup and not everything else after. A day or so later Harry came up to me and said that he was really sorry that things had to end this way. And he was really really upset about it, because he didn't want me to think that he just didn't want to be with me. I said I understood, which I didn't really at the time. So we kept in touch by owl and sometimes he would come to the burrow for a few visits and things were like normal. A normal friendship... which killed me, but it was better than nothing. But then the wedding came and towards the end we shared this really amazing slow dance. He was oddly quiet but he held me just the way he used to. I walked him out when the wedding was over and something completely random happened..."

"What?" Hermione asked interested.

"He kissed me on the lips, it wasn't a long kiss or anything but it caught me off guard. Then he looked me in the eyes for a second and his eyes got sort of teary, and he said 'I'm really going to miss you,' and smiled kind of sadly and walked away," Ginny said with spaced out eyes, Hermione could tell she was seeing it all happen in her head. "I had no chance to say anything, and not enough nerve to stop him and ask what he meant. But next is when it got really bad. He didn't come around to visit Ron or anyone else at the house and his letters stopped coming. I got really worried that something horrible happened to him and nobody knew. I worried all day, I worried in my sleep..." her voice cracked a bit. "It was about 4 weeks since I had heard anything from him at all and one night about 3:00 am an owl came to my window which was odd, because all the owls always came to the kitchen in the morning. It had a letter for me..." Ginny said getting up from the grass and opening the door of the broom shed.

She shifted a few of the dirty floorboards and pulled a small box out of the shed. Hermione guessed instantly at what it was. Ginny opened the box slowly, revealing a multitude of things. Hermione watched Ginny rummage through the items, seeing that the box was filled with letters, photographs, newspaper clippings, and a few other things she saved (obviously about her and Harry). She then pulled out a thick roll of parchment.

"Harry had written me a long letter. The last one I ever got..." her voice trailed off, "Do you want me to read it to you?"

Hermione nodded and Ginny began in a soft voice,

_My Dear Ginny, _

_I have so many things to say to you that I don't even know where to start. I'm sure that what I'm going to say won't flow very nicely, nor will it be very poetic, because I have so much to say that my thoughts will be racing out onto the parchment. I guess I should begin by apologizing to you. I can only bet you have been worrying your head off lately. You have haven't you? I don't want you to worry about me, because I am in the safest place I could find right now. I can't tell or even hint to you where that is, it is too dangerous. I am so sorry to leave you for so long without even a notice, but I was unable to figure a way to get this to you until now. _

_To tell you the honest truth... I have been missing you so much that my heart aches everyday. Do you know that I keep a picture of us next to my bed and I look at it every night before I go to sleep. I hate the way I am unable to be with you, and I hope you never feel like I don't want to be. You know that there are many reasons that we are unable to be a couple right now, and for this I am sorry as well. _

_The thought of you is the only thing that keeps me going these days, and I count the hours until I can see you again. This may sound crazy but the main reason I sent you this letter was to say... I love you. I love you so much, and I want you always to remember that. _

_I hope that you feel the same way, though there will be no real way for me to find out. As much as you may want to you CAN NOT send a letter back to me, there is no way. The owl who brought you this is bewitched to forget where it came from after the letter has been removed (don't worry it doesn't hurt the owl). I can only pray that you love me too. _

_I hope we will be reunited soon, I can't wait to hold you in my arms again. Be safe, my love. _

_ Until we meet again, _

**_ Harry_ **

By the end of the letter Ginny's voice was broken by sniffs and stutters, and when Hermione got a good look at her she could see the tears streaming down Ginny's face. The letter even made Hermione's eyes being to tear. She pulled Ginny over to her and she sobbed on Hermione's shoulder.

She stroked Ginny's hair as she cried and Hermione said to her softly, "That was a beautiful letter..."

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(A/n- sigh ok so here's the deal (...again, because I said "here's the deal" at the top too lol) So the first time I wrote this it was a lot longer because I kept going after that last part. The second time I wrote it I got a little past this and it got deleted again. This was supposed to be a really long chapter, but due to recent floppy disk events I decided I have made you wait long enough so I will give you this part first before it got killed again. I am going to put the next part in its own chapter I am really sorry. So the next chapter should be coming soon. Thanks for your patience and reviews! Keep em comin!)

P.s.- somebody review and explain to me what a beta is? Lol thanks. You think I'd know after being a member for two years.

xoxo

_Jenna_


	5. The days I can't take

(A/n- OK, this part was supposed to go with the last chapter, but now it is it's own chapter. The beginning of this chapter has the lyrics to "New American Classic" by Taking Back Sunday. I do not own the lyrics or Taking back Sunday (Though I wish I did heheh). Anyways, these lyrics gave me the idea for the story as well as its title. And I hope you enjoy it!)

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_"We've got to get better" I said, "It's all in your head" _

_We could live through these letters or forget it altogether _

_See, the months they don't matter, It's the days I can't take _

_When the hours move to minutes and I'm seconds away _

_Just ask the question, come untie the knot _

_Say you won't care _

_Say you won't care... "_

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**Chapter 4**

**-The days I can't take-**

The next few minutes Hermione spent trying to calm down a crying Ginny. She was eventually successful, and Ginny calmed down enough to be able to continue their conversation.

"Can I see what else is in the box?" Hermione asked eyeing the box on the ground next to Ginny's knees.

Ginny looked down at it smiling slightly. "Sure," she said softly. She pulled the box onto her lap and pulled out a small stack of photos held together by a dark blue ribbon.

Hermione giggled as she saw the happy couple in all different places throughout the pictures. There were pictures taken the first night they were dating after the quidditch match, and there were a few pictures from the wedding and some others. "Why are these not moving? Did you have a muggle camera?" Hermione asked knowingly, looking at a stack of still black and white pictures.

"Oh," Ginny laughed slightly. "Colin took those, Harry said that it was the one time he didn't mind having pictures taken of him, so Colin seized the opportunity." They both laughed at this. "I didn't mind either, really. He is actually quite a gifted photographer.

"I like this one," Hermione said sweetly, holding up a still picture of Harry kissing her on the cheek right in front of the fireplace. Ginny looked at it sadly and Hermione didn't want her to get too upset again so she asked another question. "What else is in the box?"

"All of the other letters he sent me, a few newspaper articles about Harry that I clipped out, old valentines I wrote to him but never had the nerve to send when I was little, a little flag from the final quidditch match, other stuff like that. Things that only mean a lot to me."

Hermione thought for a second, "Ginny? If he said all of those things in that amazing letter, why are you getting so upset about this whole thing?"

"Do you know how long ago he sent me that letter? He sent it four months ago, and that was before I realized that everyone was sneaking around me going to see him. He may have sent me a huge love letter but I just feel like it was just to shut me. Why am I the only one who can't see him, especially if he loves me like he says he does?"

Hermione shrugged, she had no idea how to explain this.

"Do you even know how horrible I feel everyday? I waited and waited for him for five years and finally got him, but... within a month he was taken away from me. I acted like it didn't bother me much at first because I try to be strong, maybe it didn't bother me as much because I didn't feel like it was actually over. But now, I feel like he has lost interest again." Ginny had tears in her eyes and it was breaking. Hermione's heart more than ever.

Ginny was starting to give up hope and it was worrying Hermione. She knew Harry still loved her, she could just tell by the way he asked about her every time they saw him. Hermione was beginning to get an idea in her head, though she couldn't tell if it was the right thing to do or not.

"How would you feel if Ron was missing, Hermione?" Ginny asked, snapping her out of her thought. "If you had no idea where he was and the most dangerous and powerful wizard in the world was after him and he could die any day. What if all you could think about was him dying before you ever got 'I love you' again?"

Hermione knew better than to answer. She knew it wasn't a real question; Ginny was trying to get her point across. Hermione just looked at her sympathetically and Ginny shook her head.

"Well, I think I'm going to go for a walk or something. I don't want to think about this anymore," Ginny said standing up.

"Ginny, it's so late that's not safe."

"I don't really care..." Ginny said blankly with some spite in her voice. "Put away my box for me, then you can go home. Don't wait for me." With that said, Ginny turned her back on Hermione and started walking down the hill toward the woods.

"Ginny, Wait!" Hermione called at her back.

Ginny's head snapped around to look at Hermione.

"I'll take you to him."

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(A/n- cliffhanger...kinda. Well that was a short chapter, because short chapters are my thing. Well I'm gonna tell you guys that I need a lot of reviews because I didn't make the play I auditioned for and I am depressed. (Yes, I am guilting you into reviewing! Haha) The next two chapters will be very short as well and then the one after that will be very long, I suppose. So I'm gonna sit around here like a mope and drink large glasses of chocolate milk out of my huge Nightmare before Christmas mug and eating poptarts (strawberry ones). Thanks for reading and please review. 

_Jenna_

Jusd'ananas- Sorry about the OOC stuff... It's tricky sometimes, but i'll try harder. And Don't you worry there will be fluff soon. )

Butterflyblonde- Sorry about OOC, a lot of people seemed to think that ( , Like I said above, I'll try harder. Thanks for reviewing!

LiTTleMiSSmOOny- Thanks for the compliments and for giving me more confidence.

5CANDALOUS- It really made you cry? Wow! Thanks ) hehehe

Courtney- (Too lazy to type you user name) If that's what a beta is then I guess you are kinda like my beta. I know you don't usually get my chapters beforehand anymore, its because I type at 2/3 o'clock in the morning and you usually aren't on. I'm impatient. Well I can't wait to help you with props! Lol xoxo

Cntyrsoldier- Thanks for the long review and for explaining the exact beta concept, I really appreciated it! )


	6. Not the same

**Say You Won't Care**

**Chapter 5-**

**-Not The Same-**

"What did you say?" Ginny stared in disbelief.

Hermione was shocked that the words actually came out of her mouth. "I said... I will take to you him."

Ginny quickly ran to Hermione and hugged her. "Thank you so much!"

Hermione giggled nervously. She wasn't sure if she should have said that, but it made Ginny so Happy and she was pretty sure it would make Harry happy too. Ginny had got to her with the letter and the sad stories.

"I can't believe it, I'm actually going to get to see him again," Ginny said in awe, "When?"

Hermione thought for a second, needing to think of a plan for this. It was easier said than done. "Tomorrow morning,"she said finally.

"That soon! That's amazing!"

"They can't know that you're going," Hermione said sternly.

"Who?"

"Your parents, your brothers, Lupin... all of them. But especially not Ron. He'd kill me for cracking on you. And not to mention the fact that he would disapprove of me leaving you at his house alone," Hermione said looking slightly worried.

"So, what's the plan?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"Um, we have to go really early, I'm thinking about five thirty."

"Five thirty? That _is_ really early, why?" Ginny whined.

"We have to leave early so no-one notices, you will leave a note saying you are going to stay with one of your friends. And it also has to be early because I told Ron that I would be here in the morning." She explained.

"Will Harry even be awake?" Ginny asked comically.

Hermione's face changed expressions at once and she looked pained. "Ginny... he's not the same as he used to be."

"Wha-what do you mean?" Ginny felt anxiety come upon her, and she wondered what this had to do with him being awake early.

"He... he doesn't really sleep much. He always looks tired and we are pretty sure he only sleeps a few hours a night," Hermione's voice quivered slightly. "He's become very jumpy and kind of solemn lately. I think that being alone so often is beginning to get to him... I don't know. I'm just starting to get worried."

Ginny hugged Hermione and assured her that Harry would be okay, when secretly she was hoping that seeing her would cheer him up.

They sat back down on the hill for a while and talked as they usually do. They talked about how weird it was not going back to Hogwarts and wondering how everyone they lost touch with was doing. They talked about Hermione's relationship with Ron and how well it was going. They talked about how worried Hermione's parents got when she finally told them about everything that happened at Hogwarts in detail. And by the time they exhausted every topic for the night it was around 1:00am.

"Well you better get to bed, you have a big day tomorrow and you have to be up in about... 4 hours," Hermione said laughing.

"I'm too excited to sleep anyway," Ginny giggled and walked over to the shed and put her box back under the floorboards.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked before she was getting ready to apparate home.

"Yes?"

"What made you pick this spot to run to, and to hide your box?" She was very interested in her answer to this.

Ginny smiled to herself, obviously reflecting back on something. "Do you remember playing quidditch out back here last summer before our last year of Hogwarts started?" She asked and Hermione nodded. "Well, when my mom called Ron inside to help her with dinner and other chores, you went with him and it always left me and Harry outside to put away the brooms and equipment. We used to put everything away and then sit down on the hill next to the shed in the sun for a few minutes each time. It began to be a little tradition for us. We always had great conversations and a lot of laughs. A few times we didn't even talk at all, usually when the sun was setting. He put his arm around my shoulder once while we watched the sunset and I just leaned my head on his shoulder. I was on cloud nine, and couldn't show it. We were awkward walking back into the house that night."

"I never knew about that, I didn't even notice," Hermione smiled.

"It was our time... only ours." Ginny smiled and looked up at the stars.

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(A/n- So, this chapter went up quick eh? Hahah I had a lot of free time this weekend. Don't expect the next one to come as quick, but it won't take forever either so don't get angry. Sorry if it is out of character... sigh Anyway, I want to thank you guys so much for all the reviews I felt very loved. ) This chapter was short too, but with my computer glitches lately I can't take too many chances so as soon as I get a good ending line for a chapter I put it up. Thanks again!)

_**-Jenna-**_

(P.S.- Flutesrtooty, thanks for proofreading! When are you gonna post something of your own eh?)


	7. In the woods

(A/n-The lyrics that start this Chapter are by Matchbook Romance, therefore they are not mine... as usual)

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- 

_A picture's worth a thousand words_

_But not worth the words I need to hear_

_I miss you so much that it hurts_

_And tonight, I wish you were here with me_

-

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**_Chapter 5_**

_**-Packing and Pacing- **_

Ginny crept carefully up the stairs to her room, closing the door softly behind her. It was almost 1:30 and Ginny still needed to pack. Hermione told her the whole plan. She would leave a note in the morning saying that she was going to Luna's for the day and staying the night. Hermione would pick her up in the next afternoon and nobody would suspect a thing.

She packed the few things she would need, like a change of clothes, pajamas, toothbrush, hairbrush, and a few other things. She pulled out what she would wear the next day. She chose it carefully because she didn't want to look like a slob but she didn't want to look too fancy either.

Ginny sighed to herself, she was filled with so many different emotions. She was so excited to see him, but she was also scared... What if he really wasn't the same like Hermione said? What would be different about him? What if he wasn't safe in his house anymore? What if he really didn't want to see her anymore? The questions were flowing around in her head making her see all of the different scenarios playing out.

She flopped down on her old patchwork blanket on her bead and a tear slipped from her eye. She pulled a picture out from under her pillow, and it was slightly crinkled from her sleeping on top of it. It was of her and Harry the summer before last, but she couldn't put her finger on the day. It wasn't a posed picture, just one that had been snapped without them knowing. Harry was poking her in the side and then looking away as if it wasn't him. She knew it was him, but she would just giggle and go back to what she was doing, and the joke would go on and on. The two would occasionally catch the other ones eye and look away quickly. Ginny smiled at the picture, thinking about how happy that summer had made her even though she knew that he didn't even realize he was flirting with her.

The Ginny in that picture couldn't even have dreamed that they would have gotten together a few months later and then be ripped apart again by reasons she couldn't even explain. She placed the picture next to her bedside, and she snuggled under her fading patchwork quilt her mother had made her when she was a little girl. It always seemed to make her feel better even when her emotions hit their all-time lows.

She closed her eyes and tried to imagine how the next day would go, and she played different scenes in her head. Some of the scenes were very positive ones where he would smile and kiss her and tell her how much he missed her.

But, her imagination also made up some visions that didn't make her feel as confident about the next day... He would open the door and his eyebrows would furrow and say, "Who brought you here. I told you not to look for me."

Another one of the popular visions in her head was when she saw him saw the first time she felt so bad for him, he would look sickly and pale... with such sad eyes...

-

-

Her alarm clock rang and she jumped up out of bed startled. It was 4:15 and she hadn't even felt like she had fell asleep. Ginny had thought she had just been thinking about what would happen all night, but didn't realized that at some point her imagination had switched over to her dreams. She was exhausted because she only got a couple hours of sleep, but as she began to wake properly she remembered what would be going on that day. Suddenly she didn't feel very tired anymore... she felt more anxious than anything else.

She rushed in and out of the shower and quickly dried her hair. She dressed into the clothes she picked out the night before. She wore a pair of Jeans and navy blue sweater because it was very cold. She thought for a second that she had no idea where Harry was hiding and whether or not it was cold there too. She just shrugged and continued getting ready. She put some makeup on, just a little blue eyeshadow and some mascara. She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard.

It was five and she was packed, dressed and ready. Hermione wasn't coming until 5:30 so she had a lot of time left. She cleaned up her room and quietly went downstairs. Ginny wrote her note, simple and to the point, saying she was going to Luna's. She knew they wouldn't be suspicious because she went there often.

She looked at the clock and still had 20 minutes left. "Ugh! Time is going so sloooow," Ginny whined in her head. She decided to whip up some muffins in the kitchen; she had to use a charm to speed it up a bit. She put them in a box and put it on top of her luggage.

10 minutes left... A time well spent pacing around the kitchen the window and waiting to see Hermione coming up the walkway.

"Finally!" she thought ecstatically in her head.

Hermione walked quietly up to the door and motioned Ginny outside, not wanting to make any noise. Ginny scooped up her bag and the box of muffins and walked out the door, locking it behind her.

They walked silently to the end of the walkway and when they got to the edge of the road Hermione asked, "So, how are you feeling?"

"Scared out of my mind to tell you the truth," Ginny replied honestly. "I barely slept."

"I figured as much," She said lightly and smile at her. "Ok, so I'm going to apparate us a couple minutes away from him, its really hard to hit the mark right on."

Ginny nodded and held on to Hermione's arm, getting ready for that annoying feeling when you apparate. She felt like she was being sucked through a tube.

Within seconds they were standing among thousands of trees. Ginny looked around while trying to catch her breathe. The color on all the leaves was amazing.

"So where to, now?" Ginny asked still staring in awe at how the sun shone through the fall leaves. The Reds, and oranges, and yellows...

"This way," Hermione led her though the trees, "But you have to be quite."

Ginny knew the reason she had to be quiet. It was just in the very unlikely case there was a person in the woods, they couldn't give away Harry's hideout.

After a few minutes or walking uphill the house came into view. The house was made of old dark wood shingles with a dark green door. It looked slightly rundown and woodsy, but big just the same. It was different than what she expected, she had been seeing a mansion in her head the whole time. It made sense though, why would he be hiding in a mansion? Mansions aren't that secretive.

"It doesn't look very protected," Ginny whispered cautiously.

"It is protected with tons of charms, spells, detectors, and everything," Hermione said Matter-or-factly.

"Then how did we get here so easily?"

"Because you are with me," Hermione said, "Me, Ron, and the others have had special charms put on us that let us apparate to the area. The spell deflects everyone but us. I know all the tricks."

"Oh..." Ginny wished she was 'privileged' enough to know all the tricks...

"Well, you are on your own now, Gin," Hermione said softly turning to face Ginny.

"Aren't you walking up there with me?"

Hermione gave her a look that clearly said, "Heck No."

"Oh alright. See you tomorrow afternoon then?" Ginny said as she hugged her best friend.

"Yep, I hope everything goes ok," She smiled.

"Yeah, me too," Ginny walked toward the steps and the door of Harry's old house.

Hermione waved to her and disapparated at once.

Ginny sighed, ran her fingers through her hair nervously and walked up to his door. 'This is it...' she thought nervously one last time. She knocked on the tarnished door knocker two times and she waited. She heard a few creaks coming from inside and then a silence. Then, the doorknob turned and the door slowly creaked open.

She found herself face to face with... nothing? The door had opened but she was just staring into a dark empty house. She began to feel a streak of panic. She craned her head to look inside, and there was still no site of Harry or anyone else. She turned around slowly to see if something was wrong and if Hermione came back, but Hermione was long gone. A gust of wind blew and she shivered.

She had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, Ginny screamed as a hand grasped onto her shoulder an pulled her inside.

---

* * *

(A/n- Bum bum bum...! Cliffhanger! Pretty suspenseful! Mhmm. So this was a pretty long chapter. The next one should be pretty long too. Horray. My computer hasn't eaten anything in a while so you are all lucky. Sorry it took a little while, I have filling out college applications. Sigh I'm getting old. I started writing the summer of freshman year, and now I'm a senior. Crazy. Well I'm gonna keep writing so I don't keep you folks waiting too long again. Thanks for reading, review please!) 

Thanks to my reviewers-

LittleMiSSmOOny

HarryGinnyfan23

jusd'ananas

Krizue

crazyinulover

5CANDALOUS

My name is leslie Anne Levine

Skateforever

andromedabillion

prongs

Flutesrtooty -- best friend

_Love always,_

_-Jenna-_


	8. Should have never

**_Chapter 7_**

**_So many months_**

-

"SHHH!"

Ginny fell to the floor. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would burst through her chest.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Harry's voice whispered angrily. He began to appear feet first as he pulled the invisibility cloak off.

Ginny laid back on the floor with her chest heaving up and down as she stared at the ceiling. "You scared the bloody hell out of me Harry," she said out of breath. Her entrance was not how she pictured it.

Harry took out his wand and locked several locks on the door. "Yeah, well I wasn't expecting anybody," He said flatly.

Ginny just laid there, not knowing what to do or say. This wasn't going well at all, "Well Hermione didn't tell me you'd be invisible when I got here."

"So it was Hermione that blabbed, huh?" Harry said with some spite.

Ginny finally decided to stand up while saying defensively, "It depends on what you mean by blabbed."

Once on her feet she found herself right in front of Harry, finally seeing how he looked after all this time. His hair was exactly the same and he still wore the same glasses. His body had a much more manly frame. His shoulders looked more broad and his arms had more muscles than she remembered. But his face... It seemed completely different to her. It looked pale and his eyes had small dark circles under them. His mouth was turned down slightly at the corners, frowning. His eyes were narrowed like he was thinking real hard about something.

Harry grabbed her by the wrist and steered her toward the couch in his livingroom. While she sat there silently waiting for him to say something she took in the surroundings of the house. She was in his livingroom and all the shades were drawn shut. She was sitting on a dark green sofa and there were three others to match. In the corner there was a desk with papers spilling off the sides. There was a lit lamp in the corner because it was so dark with the shades closed. She could also see a stairway down the hall and a doorway that she assumed led to the kitchen.

"How did you get her to tell?" Harry asked crossly.

Ginny felt like she had been slapped in the face. She shouldn't have come at all. "She felt bad for me," Ginny said sadly. She watched him pace back and forth in front of her. "I got in a fight with Ron and I ran out of the house and to the broom shed. Hermione followed me and I told her how I was feeling about this whole situation," Ginny explained the story about the night before. Harry listened intently as he continued to pace in front of her.

Eventually he came to a complete stop and turned towards her."If you got the letter why did you come looking for me anyway," he said confused. "If something happened to you I could never **ever** forgive myself... Why didn't you just respect that?" Harry looked her in the eyes anger growing inside of him. Ginny was trying not to talk back or stop him. Then, he started again, "I'm just trying to protect you, Ginny! You should have never..."

Finally Ginny couldn't take it anymore. She stood up face to face with him, "Never what! Huh! Never what!" Ginny screamed at him. "Should have never worried about you for months and months? Should have never tried everything in my power just to see you? Should never have loved you as much as I do! I don't know what you want me to say! Do you want me to say I was wrong in coming here? Fine, I should have never came," Ginny voice started to lower. She didn't want it to be like this, and now she was fighting with him. "I don't know why I thought this was a good idea..." she said softly, more to herself than to him.

He looked at her for a second and tears began to well up in his eyes. He couldn't decide if he was angry, scared, or upset. He took a step toward her looking into her brown eyes. He imagined seeing her in front of him so often, but it was never quite like this. Her eyes were wide and startled because of their debate and that wasn't the way he wanted to see her. It was his own fault. After a few more moments he seemed to break down. She would soon be able to see through this emotional barrier he'd been building. He couldn't be strong anymore... he'd done it for so many months.

"I'm so sorry, Ginny," he said sadly and pulled her into a tight embrace. Her buried his face into her shoulder, and when she felt his breathing catch she knew that he was crying.

She felt a tear come to her eye and she stroked his hair gently. "It's ok, Harry... I'm here now..."

-

-

* * *

(A/n- I know that was really short, but it's the start of what you are all waiting for. Fluff! Horray! 

The next chapter will be long I promise. Sorry bout the cliffhanger from the last chapter. Well, I have a tendency to do that. But at least I updated really soon right? It kinda makes up for it. Thanks for reading and review please!)

Thanks to all who reviewed...

**LiTTleMiSSmOOny**- Thanks for the awesome review. However, I do not suck... I just like to write cliffhangers! Thanks for the advice on the college applications and for the great review! P.s. I agree that it is fun to see your own name on the page, that's why I do it because it makes me happy! Haha.

**Krizue**- Hem-hem... Excuse me! Way to know what was going to happen before it happened! Haha, sorry if I was too predictable, I hope you liked it anyway :-) and thanks for the review.

**Courtney**- I love youuu thanks for the BETA-ing

Eek, my computer jsut messed up and I want to get this posted before I leave for Penn. Sorry I didn't get to thank you all individually! Next time, I promise!

_Jenna_


	9. Blushing

**Chapter 8**

**_-Blushing-_**

Ginny lead him to the couch where they sat quietly for about a half an hour. His tears fell slowly as he laid his head on her chest and she stroked his hair. He couldn't tell if he was upset or scared, but he knew that he wasn't angry with her anymore. Being in her arms made him feel better, and he was glad she pushed so hard to get to where he was.

He sat up, feeling slightly embarrassed for crying so much. He knew Ginny wouldn't judge him for it, but he never wanted to break down on her. "So how did you actually get Hermione to tell you," Harry asked curiously.

Ginny blushed slightly, "It started out with a fight with Ron. And, when Hermione came to comfort me I read her the letter and told her about the wedding... and then I cried."

"Oooh. Crying eh?" Harry laughed nervously and ran his hand through his hair, "Seems to be a lot of that going on."

Ginny smiled at him and put her hand on his cheek, "Don't you even worry about it."

Harry smiled, "How long are you staying?"

"Until tomorrow morning, I mean, if that's ok with you. My parents and brothers think I'm at Luna's. So how have you been feeling?"

Harry's face dropped a bit, "Not that great, actually. "I feel like I'm in prison sometimes. Thank god they gave me a big house to pace around in all day. They have me studying non-stop trying to learn every spell, hex, jinx and counter jinxes so when I do actually have to go out and fight I can think fast. And, they have me working out, like the muggle way. Lifting weights, doing pushups, and other stuff in case I ever have to physically fight anyone..." His voice trailed off a bit. "Sometimes I can't get through the workouts though. I don't sleep anymore. I get three hours of sleep tops a night. I am too paranoid and have too much to think about."

Ginny looked at him sadly.

"I don't have anyone to talk to if nobody visits. Sometimes I don't talk for days, and when I do I don't even recognize my own voice," he explained.

"How often do people come here?" Ginny asked.

Hermione and Ron come about once a week, and Lupin comes to give me orders sometimes. Your parents come here about once a month and Fred and George come every so often. But the average is about two days of visitors a week. Every other day I'm on my own. I'm going to loose my mind soon," He put his head in his hands.

She noticed him getting stressed again and she didn't want that to happen. "Well this week you will have three visitors," Ginny smiled and took his hand in hers.

The warmth of her hand gave him shivers.

"Oh," Ginny remembered, "I made us some muffins for breakfast this morning."

"Oh thanks. Go get them and we'll bring them in the Kitchen," Harry told her, and she went to go get the box. She then followed him down the hall into the kitchen. The kitchen was small, painted yellow, and had an oak kitchen table in the middle. As Ginny untied the box, and Harry got out some plates and glasses of orange juice.

While she was putting muffins on her and Harry's plates she noticed something odd hanging on the wall. It looked like a gray collage of some sort.

Harry noticed her looking and explained without her even asking, "They're newspaper clippings." Ginny bluntly asked why he would want newspaper clippings on his kitchen wall. "They are all headlines, pictures, and articles I cut out about Voldemort and the Deatheater's crimes."

Ginny took a step closer and looked over the pictures and their titles.

Harry continued, "They are about the murders of people we knew, and people that have gone missing. I keep them up there to remind me of why I am even locked in here. I guess you can say it keeps me motivated to work a hard as possible on strategies and research."

She looked closely at the pictures noticing that Dumbledore's death announcement was among the many posted up. She had to turn her head away when she saw some more gruesome pictures. "That's a really good idea," Ginny noted, "But, I don't think I would have put it in the kitchen."

"At first it grossed me out a bit too, but now it just makes me mad, which is what it's supposed to do."

They finished their conversation about the collage and sat down to eat breakfast. Ginny couldn't figure out why but she felt so nervous around him. She couldn't tell if it was because of his unbalanced emotional state. It might have been because she hadn't seen him in so long. She thought as they ate quietly, 'I know what it is, I have no idea what we are... He said he was so happy that I was there, but what does that mean? Did he see this as a friendly visit? Does he see me as his ex-girlfriend?... prospective girlfriend?... current girlfriend?..." As she was spacing out, she reached to grab another muffin but grabbed something else instead. Harry had been reaching for a muffin at the same time and she grabbed his hand. She snapped out of it very quickly and pulled her hand away. "...Um, sorry..." she mumbled as she scolded herself angrily in her head for acting so foolishly.

Harry smiled at her when he noticed her blushing cheeks, and didn't dare point them out to her.

Shortly after, they finished breakfast and Harry decided to take Ginny on a tour of his house. They left the kitchen and walked up the stairs to the second floor. The only rooms downstairs were the kitchen, they large livingroom, a bathroom and the room with his weights in it. Upstairs their first stop was the guest room. It was a Victorian style room (as was most of the furniture in the house) with sage colored walls and mahogany furniture. There were rose colored curtains and a rose colored bedspread.

"This is the guest room, you can sleep in here tonight if you'd like."

"That would be lovely, thank you," she replied. Harry went back downstairs for a minute to bring her bag into the room, and then they moved on down the hall. He briefly showed her the bathroom, just to show her where it was, and then showed her the second guestroom. This one had burgundy walls and was a little bit smaller.

"You can stay in here instead if you like, but the other one was brighter so I figured... well I should have let you choose, but..." He started, feeling guilty that he just told her where to stay.

"Harry," she cut him off, "I love the room you picked. It's beautiful." She smiled. She felt better about acting like a dork during breakfast, and she didn't dare point out that he was blushing.

They passed a door and Harry pointed out, "That's my room. It's a mess."

"And why didn't you clean your room young man?" Ginny said, mocking her mother's voice.

Harry laughed at her impression as they came to the last room upstairs. "I think you will like this one..." Harry smiled as he slowly opened the door.

Ginny's jaw dropped as she walked into a huge library. Mahogany shelves stretched across every wall from ceiling to floor and there were two leather chairs sitting in front of a huge marble fireplace. Harry leaned against the doorframe and smiled at Ginny as she walked along the wall running her hand along the thousands of book bindings. She looked like a child in a toy store not knowing where to look first.

"If I were you I'd be in here all day," Ginny said in awe, taking out one of the books and turning it over in her hands.

"I don't have much of a choice, but I don't mind. This is my favorite room."

"Are these all spellbooks?" Ginny asked curiously staring at all of the gold titles on the bindings.

"Mostly. The drawers underneath the shelves have a bunch of old newspapers, and that shelve over there are all books about quidditch," he pointed to a shelf full of brightly colored books, "for when I get tired of memorizing spells."

"It must get boring sometimes."

"Yeah, it does. And, speaking of boring, I actually have to fill out my weekly report to send to Lupin. It should only take about a half an hour. Do you want to stay up here and look around?" he asked. She nodded and smiled still amazed at his own personal library. "Good, I'll be at my desk downstairs if you need me." He turned and left the room.

Ginny stared at the books, noticing that some of those books were worthy of the Hogwarts restricted section. They were undoubtedly filled with spells that no child should ever learn. She read the titles in a whisper, "War Spells, Advanced Occlumency, 1,000 Potions Poisons, and Elixirs..." The titles went on and on.

She picked a book out to read, walked over to the fireplace and lit the fire. On the mantle she realized there were many pictures. There was a picture of his parents when they where younger; Harry looked just like his father. Next to it was a picture of him and Hagrid during one of his early years at Hogwarts. The next was a picture of Harry and Cedric before the third task of the tri-wizard tournament. They both wore looks of pride and nervousness, and Ginny shuddered thinking about what happened shortly after. There was a picture of her entire family, with Lupin Tonks and Harry, at the burrow at Christmas. Another picture was of Hermione, Ron and him at the quidditch world cup. But, the one picture that made her happiest was a picture of Harry and Ginny slow dancing at Bill's wedding. Her head was leaning on his shoulder as they slowly rocked back and fourth in the moving picture. She picked up the picture frame to look closer when a piece of parchment fell out from behind it.

She reached down, picked it up, and realized that it had her name written on it in script. Wondering what it was she slowly sat down on the soft carpet in front of the fire and unfolded the piece of paper. She looked at the date and noted that it was written about two weeks ago. It was a letter to her that was never sent. It read,

_Dear Ginny,_

_I'm so sorry that I have had to put you through all of this. I ask Ron and Hermione about you every time they come here, and I have been growing more and more worried about you. They tell me how sad you've been and how you always ask for me. I want you to know that I didn't forget about you, but I don't even know if I will even be allowed to send this letter. I miss you, Ginny. If I were able to sleep I would dream about you every night. For now, my daydreams will suffice. Please always wait for me. Don't give up. I love you so much._

_Maybe we will be reunited soon,_

_**Harry**_

* * *

(A/n- Yeah that took forever. After I lost the chapter and the disk I got really cranky and was resistant to start this chapter over. This was a long chapter considering the circumstances. So I am totally sick and have no voice right now and it is 3:30, but I was on a roll! I had to keep going... for my readers and my personal satisfaction. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will be super extra fluffy! Horrayyyy! Please review!) 

_-Jenna-_


	10. Fireplaces and Sunsets

_(A/n- The lyrics at the top of this page are to a song called 'Sunsets and Car Crashes' by SpillCanvas I Dont own them. Enjoy.)_

_-_

_"And In case you were wondering,_

_You are like a sunset to me_

_You're all kinds of beautiful_

_As you end my day_

_And you sweetly retire_

_As the stars chase you away..."_

_-_

**Chapter 9**

**_Fireplaces and Sunsets_**

Ginny read the letter so many times she had memorized it. She was ecstatic, and she didn't want Harry to know she had seen it. She felt like running downstairs and throwing her arms around him. But she didn't want to just jump into his face and say "I LOVE YOU TOO!" She was going to let things play out the way they were supposed to, without her interference. It made her feel a lot better to know that he wanted to be with her just as much as she did with him. The challenge now would be to get him to say it out loud and to keep her cool... which was easier said than done.

Almost immediately after she had put the letter back behind the picture frame and laid down on the carpet with her book, Harry finished his paperwork downstairs. He walked up the stairs and leaned in the doorway just watching Ginny in front of the fire. The flames cast an orange glow over her and made her look, if possible, even more radiant. Her hair shone a vibrant red, and she glowed like an angel. He stared at her for a minute before breaking out of his trance and walking slowly into the room.

"I have chairs, you know," Harry laughed sitting beside her on the floor.

"I like it close to the fire," she smiled when she turned to look at him, "It keeps me warm."

"You're cold?" he asked concerned, "Do you want me to go get you one of my sweatshirts?" He rested his hand on the small of her back.

Ginny felt shivers run though her body, not because she was cold, but because his touch was so gentle and caring. She was thinking about being in his arms when she realized that he had asked her a question and he was patiently wait for her answer. "Yes, please," she replied quickly.

He went quickly to his bedroom and returned moments later with a hooded sweatshirt for her to wear.

She put it on and it smelled like his cologne. 'He is so not getting this sweatshirt back... I hope he knows that,' Ginny told herself in her head. "Thank you."

They sat down next to each other on the carpet and stared into the fire. They talked about anything and everything they could think of. They reminisced about their days at school and the thrilling adventures they took together. They talked about how Hermione and Ron are perfect for each other and they should have been married by now. Ginny talked to him about the recent happenings of pro quidditch and which team was in the lead. They only stopped talking for a brief half an hour, which was spent downstairs in the kitchen making some sandwiches for lunch. They were so involved in conversation that they didn't realize that the time had flown by and it was almost 5:00.

"I could talk with you forever..." Harry said sweetly to her brushing his hand over her cheek. "But right now I want to show you something." He helped her up and took her hand, "Close your eyes." He walked her slowly out of the library and down the hall. She felt something placed softly over both of them, and then heard the opening of a door. Ginny felt a gust of wind and heard the door creak shut once again.

She felt Harry's cheek close to her ear and he whispered very softly. "Open your eyes."

When Ginny's eyes opened she realized that they were on a balcony of his house right underneath the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. She gasped slightly and turned to face Harry. He put his finger to her lips to silence her because they couldn't be seen or heard. She nodded and turned back to the sunset.

Her vision was slightly blurred because it was windy and the invisibility cloak flapped in front of her face, but that didn't stop her from seeing the amazing hues of the sky. It faded from a deep purple color, to a dark red, to a burning orange right above the trees. He squeezed her hand tightly, and motioned for her to sit down on the deck. He sat her down on his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around her body. She laid her head back onto his chest and he kissed the top of her head lightly. This is how she imagined their reuniting to be all along: Sweet and just like a dream.

The whole situation reminded her of the first really personal moment she had ever had with Harry. The one on the hill at the burrow that she had just recently told Hermione about. It was time for dinner and the sun was setting just as it was right then. He didn't hold her as closely, she only had her head on his shoulder, but they felt just as connected. It was that summer day when she realized that she could never get over Harry, and this fall day was reminding her that she could never live without him.

They sat and watched the sunset until it the orange hues were almost gone, and the cold weather got more fierce. Ginny was beginning to shiver and Harry hugged her close for warmth. "Maybe we should get you inside," he whispered to her ear. The feeling of his breath made her tingle. He kissed her cheek lightly, and they carefully stood up trying not to knock of the invisibility cloak and they walked back inside.

Harry closed and locked the balcony door and pulled the cloak off of both of them. Ginny's cheeks were pink from the cold and he looked at her adoringly. Her lip quivered because she hadn't recovered from the cold yet. He wished he could warm them for her.

He got lost in thought for a moment... What did she feel about him? She obviously had to still feel strongly for him, if she forced his whereabouts out of Hermione. She didn't pull away when he held her, and he even noticed her getting a little ditsy around him, which was totally uncharacteristic of her normally poised self. All he knew was he wanted to lean in and kiss her right then and there and tell her that he wanted to be back together with her. He wanted to tell her never to leave.

He looked into her warm brown eyes and said softly, "Maybe next time we'll sit out and watch the stars."

* * *

- 

(A/n- Pretty quick post. Would have been quicker if I didn't lose Internet access for three days. :-) Hehe So this was extra fluffy, a little shorter, but fluffy just the same. I think I'm going to get one more chapter up quickly, but then there is going to be a slight break in updating. The week after Thanksgiving I'm going to Rochester, New York to The All State Music Convention... pretty awesome. I'll be in a hotel with no computer access so it might take a bit longer than usual. But, I will be writing in my notebook. No worries. Well please tell me what you thought about the chapter! Review!

Happy Thanksgiving! ( A little Late)

_-Jenna-_


	11. Patchwork quilt

_For months you've been away_

_You're here a couple days_

_I've got all the time in the world_

_To do with what we please_

_If it were up to me_

_We'd have all the time in the world_

_Just stay right where I can see you..._

**_Patchwork Quilt_**

**Chapter 10**

Harry lit the lights in the house now that the sun had set bellow the horizon. They both had grown quiet, not knowing what to say next or how to act. They wouldn't admit it but they both felt it... the bonds of love between them were coming back stronger than ever. Neither of them had the nerve to make the first move... or even bring up their feelings to the other. Ginny knew he loved her from the letter, but she wouldn't tell him she knew. She wanted to hear it from him out loud.

They talked awkwardly a bit and then Harry excused himself to go take a shower (Which was also awkward). "After I get out of the shower I'll make us some dinner. If you want you can hang out in the library until I'm finished," and with that said he smiled and walked up the stairs.

"There is no way I'm going to be able to sit and read at a time like this. I'm to jumpy I won't be able to concentrate," Ginny told herself firmly. Her nerves were shot, she was almost glad that he walked away for a bit so she could calm down again. Then, she had an idea that would surprise him and that would calm her down in the mean time.

She walked down the hall and into the kitchen and decided to cook him dinner. She opened the cabinets to see them stocked with food of all kinds, and the trouble would be choosing what to make. Ginny was an excellent cook, but there weren't many things she could make from memory. She found pasta on one of the shelves and looked in the fridge and to make sure he had tomatoes to make sauce. She decided that pasta would be the best to make because it would be finished before he came back downstairs.

She set to work right away, filling a pot with water and charming it to a boil right away. She heard the water turn on upstairs and she knew she still had time. She tossed the pasta into the pot and began working on the sauce. She cut up all the tomatoes and put them into a separate pot. She searched the spice rack and found some garlic, basil, and oregano adding a pinch here and there to make it perfect. All she had to do was to wait for everything to finish cooking, and in the meantime she had to set the table.

-

-

Meanwhile, Harry was in the shower thinking over the whole situation. He didn't know how he should go about the whole situation. It was awkward enough that she was in his house alone while he was showering. She was sleeping there that night and it felt kind of strange. He thought he felt their old connection coming back, but he had to be positive. It was so great holding her out on the balcony. It felt just like it used to when they were together for that sadly short amount of time. He was feeling that for once, finally, something might go his way.

He just stood there and felt the hot water pounding against his face. "My life is so complicated..." he sighed in his head.

After his shower he got dried off, dressed, and went out into the hall. "Ginny?" he called into the library and looked in. She wasn't in there. "Ginny?" he called again when he looked into her guest room. He wondered to himself where she was and assumed the only other place she could be was downstairs. "Gin?" he called one last time when he got down the stairs and finally he saw her peek her head around the corner of the hallway leading to the kitchen.

"I'm in here," She smiled and she disappeared once more down the hall. He followed her curiously to the kitchen and when he stepped into the doorway his eyes lit up in surprise.

The table was set for two with pasta and marinara sauce. The glasses and utensils shined with the light of the single candle she lit in the center of the table. "Ginny... You shouldn't have done this..." Harry said still softly, still amazed at how she whipped up such a classy dinner in a mere half an hour. "You're my guest, you shouldn't be catering to me. I should be cooking dinner for..."

"Harry, stop," she cut him off with a small laugh. She took his hand softly, "I wanted to do this for you, it's no big deal. You deserve it," she motioned for him to sit at the table.

Harry smiled graciously pulled her chair out for her. They didn't say much during dinner, except for a few compliments from Harry to the chef. Harry felt so calm and natural as if they have been sitting together and eating dinner every night for their whole lives. He looked up at her and saw the soft golden glow of the candle on her face. At that moment he made a scene in his mind that he had just come home from a long day at work and they were relaxing with dinner and wine... He didn't even realize how big he was smiling until he heard Ginny giggle.

"What are you smiling at, Mister," Ginny smiled at him slightly confused.

"Just thinking," he grinned at her.

"Whaaaat?" she whined at him like a little girl.

He took her hand from across the table and said softly, "It's nothing to worry about."

-

-

Dinner finished and Ginny stood up to bring the dished to the sink.

"Oh no you don't, young lady. Sit back down. I'll take care of the dishes," Harry stood up and started rinsing off the plates. Just as he finished the dishes Harry let out a huge yawn.

"I want you to try and get some sleep," Ginny said and she stood up from the table.

"Nah, I yawn all the time. All day, actually," Harry explained with a slight laugh.

Ginny replied with a slightly patronizing tone, "Well that is one more reason for you to try to get some sleep for once."

Harry agreed reluctantly, knowing that sleep does not come easily to him. She took his hand and pulled him up the stairs to his room.

"I'm going to get in my pajamas and I'll come back in and say goodnight," Ginny smiled and left Harry to get ready for bed. Ginny went into her room and turned down the comforter on her bed. She got into a pair of gray flannel pants and a lavender sleep shirt, and went down the hall to the bathroom to brush her teeth. By the time she was done tying up her hair and washing her face, she assumed Harry would be done getting ready for bed. She walked back down the hall to his room and knocked lightly on her door.

"Come on in," Harry called. He was fluffing the pillows and turning down the covers on his bed. It had been Ginny's first time in his room and she noticed immediately that he had a quilt on his bed, just as she did. It looked almost identical except for the lack of pink material that hers had which was been replaced by green.

Ginny smiled slightly and walked to the foot of his bed. She ran her hand across the quilt and asked, "Did my mum make this for you?"

Harry nodded, "She brought it for me when they helped me move my things here." Harry said, sitting up at the head of the bed.

"I have one just like it. She made it for me when I was a little girl. It always makes me feel better when I'm upset," Ginny looked down at her fingers tracing across the quilts seams. "It's seen a lot of tears lately."

Harry looked at her and noticed her eyes turn slightly glassy. "Ginny?"

"Yeah," Ginny said softly as she furiously tried to brush away any tears threatening to fall.

"Come sit up here with me?" he asked softly with pleading eyes.

Ginny crawled to the head of the bed and sat close to him. He put his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. He could feel her wet eyelashes brush on his neck when she snuggled against him. She pulled away for a second and looked at him. "I still can't believe I'm here,"Ginny said in awe as she looked into his deep green eyes.

Harry smiled and did something that puzzled Ginny. He pulled the blankets out from under them and patted the bed next to him. She understood his hint and they laid down next to each other. Harry pulled the covers up to their shoulders and Ginny rolled on her side to face him. As soon as her head leaned against his pillow she realized how tired she actually was.

"Do you know what time I went to bed last night? A little after one thirty. I was talking to Hermione almost all night and then I had to pack and get ready. Falling asleep was tough last night, bad dreams and stuff... Well... who am I to tell you that," Ginny said softly, her speech was slowing as she started to drift to sleep. She yawned and then began again, "Then I woke up at 4:30 ... and I didn't realize how tired I was... until just now," Ginny was thinking drowsily about the turned down in her guest room. It wouldn't get much use that night.

"Wow, you woke up that early just to see me?" Harry laughed softly as he watched the girl he loves drift to sleep right before his eyes.

She sighed softly and slumber finally took over. The last thing she said to him was, "I'd do anything to be with you..."

Harry's heart skipped a beat and he wanted nothing more than to get up and run around the room screaming in triumph, but he didn't want to wake Ginny. He had to settle for giving her a kiss on the forehead pulling her close to his chest. There was not a angry or scared thought in his head, which would be just the thing to make him fall asleep properly for the first time in four months.

"Goodnight, Love..."

* * *

(a/n- That took a long time... I think it always takes a long time for me to update, but this has to be one of the worst. I have been very busy with christmas and all, not to mention auditions for Les Miserables and college applications and what not. Sorry I'll try my best. I must say that i have never left a story unfinished, so know that no matter what happens the story will get done! Thanks so much for reading and for all those who reviewed last chapter! It would be lovely if you could review this one too :-) 

_-**Jenna-**_

_P.s.- the lyrics at the top belong to 'The Starting Line' (Stay right whereI can see you)_


	12. Seeing her cry

:-/ --- This is me... not owning anything!

-

**_Say You Won't Care_**

**_Chapter 11_**

**_Seeing her Cry_**

-

It was somewhere around 2:00 am and Ginny woke with a start when she felt Harry tossing and turning beside her. The moonlight gave her just enough glow to see his face. His jaw was clenched tight and she could see the fear upon his face. He mumbled and should couldn't make out what he was saying, but she knew that he must be having a nightmare. He thrashed his head to the side once or twice, and Ginny couldn't stand to see him like that. She immediately knew what he went through every single night.

She wasn't sure what she could do for him but he had to give it a try. She sat up next to him and put her hand against his cheek. His head stopped thrashing at her touch. His expression changed as well, but not the way she'd hoped. His face changed from fear to sadness and his murmur became even softer. Ginny felt tears come to her eyes. She felt so much sympathy for him at that moment, she never wanted to have to leave him ever again.

"Shhh... It'll all be alright," Ginny cooed softly to him. He ran the tips of her fingers down his cheek softly. "Everything will be ok..." She bent down close to his him and kissed him gently on his forehead, and ran her fingers through his dark messy hair. "I'm here, it'll all be alright..." Ginny tried to soothe him with soft words and within a minute or two he seemed to be a peace once more. Ginny smiled to herself sleepily, and snuggled close up to his chest once more and drifted back to sleep.

-

-

Harry's eyes opened slowly, and he rolled over onto his side and wondered what time it was. All the shades were drawn as usual, and he figured it was still late at night. Then as his drowsiness faded he realized that Ginny had been sleeping beside him and she was no longer there. He looked around the room and there was no sign of her. He walked over to the window and peeked through the shades to find that the sun was shining outside of it. He let out a big yawn and decided to search the house for Ginny. Harry walked down the hall, occasionally bumping his shoulder into the wall, still drowsy from sleep. He just kept thinking, "What time is it?" until he found Ginny sitting on the rug in the library reading.

She heard him clunk into the doorway and smiled at him as he plopped down next to her and laid his head down on her knee. She ran her fingers through his messy hair and giggled.

"What time is it?" He asked through a yawn.

"About nine o-clock. How does it feel to sleep for eleven hours?" she asked jokingly.

He sat up straight and looked at her in disbelief. "Was it really that long! Oh my goodness. I haven't sleep that long since... we were still at school. I usually have bad dreams and average about two hours of sleep. I don't even think I had any dreams last night. I slept like a rock."

"Well," Ginny stated matter of factly, "You had a lot to catch up on."

"I don't understand how I slept so long..."

Ginny smiled thinking about the time she woke up during the night when she calmed him down.

Harry saw her smile. "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing..."

He laid his head back down on her knee and sat there floor a little while longer. He closed his eyes and thought for a little while, though he did wonder if she was still looking at him. Deep down Harry knew that just having Ginny beside him was probably the thing that made him sleep with ease, but he couldn't just say that out loud. He didn't want to scare her off.

He opened his eye to find her staring into the fireplace, she looked very thoughtful. When she realized he was looking at her she snapped out of it and smiled at him.

"I think I'm going to make some breakfast for us. What do you want?" Ginny asked him.

"You don't have to do that. You already made me dinner, and muffins for breakfast yesterday," Harry objected. He didn't want her to feel like she had to cook for him to stay there.

"I love to cook! Plleeeaaassseee!" She begged.

"Does that mean I have to get up?" Harry pouted at her jokingly.

"Yup!"

Harry sat up and Ginny stood. He groaned as he got to his feet. "Oh please, spare me the dramatics, Harry!" Ginny took his hand and led him out of the room. Harry felt himself shiver when her fingers laced with hers. They had been separated so long, that now every time they touched his heart skipped a beat or two.

Once down in the kitchen Ginny ordered Harry to sit down while she cooked some eggs and bacon for breakfast. With some protest Harry sat down and watched her cook. As they talked Harry watched her with such adoration and he smiled to himself when he thought about how cute she looked in the morning. Ginny was still in her pajamas and had her curly hair tied up in a messy bun on top of her head. He felt so at peace with everything that he almost forgot that he was in hiding in the first place. She was making his house feel like a home. He still couldn't believe that she had slept beside him in his arms all night long.

The thing that scared him was that soon she would be gone. He knew that once she left she shouldn't comeback to see him again. Her life would be in danger and he couldn't bare losing her. Though, not seeing her again for who knows how long would feel almost if he lost anyway.

"Breakfast's ready!" Ginny smiled and put their plates down on the table.

She caught him off guard and all he could get out was, "Wha- oh yes. Breakfast."

Ginny sat and raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong Harry?"

"Nothing, just thinking."

"About?"

"We'll talk about it later," Harry said delicately.

"Oh, um... ok," Ginny began to worry. Questions like "Did I do something wrong" and other variations of it were running through her head as they ate breakfast. They didn't talk much because deep inside they both knew that Hermione would be around before they knew it bring Ginny back home.

After breakfast Ginny excused herself to go shower and get dressed. About a little less than an hour later Ginny came back downstairs wearing Jeans and a green sweater, and her hair back to its usual shining curls. Harry too had changed and she found him sitting on the couch in his livingroom.

She walked over and sat close to him on the couch. She kissed him on the cheek and leaned her head on his shoulder. She was getting more comfortable around him all of a sudden he seemed very distant to her. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you now, Harry?"

Harry sighed, "I guess we have to. Isn't Hermione coming soon?"

"Yes, in about a half an hour."

Harry shifted in his seat and Ginny picked up her head. "What are we going to do after you leave today, Gin?" Harry waited for a response or maybe some smart easy solution from her, but he waited in vain. She sat in complete silence. Harry tired to ask again but phrased it differently in hope of an answer from her. "Well, what do you _want_ to happen after you leave here?"

Ginny looked up at him on his emphasis of the word "want." She was actually still in shock that he considered them as a "we." Ginny shook her head and said, "You can't honestly leave this sort of decision to me, Harry. You know how hard I've been trying to get here. You can't tell me that you don't already know what my answer would be," Ginny stated in a shocked tone. "I am leaving this decision up to you. You know that I am completely willing to hide here and keep any secrets you need me too, but also know that I will respect whatever you choose to do... even if it does mean losing you again..."

Harry watched Ginny's face fall and his heart wretched. His safety was so important to him and he never wanted anything to hurt her. But her being unhappy would hurt her just as much if not more. He had absolutely no intention of losing her again... and he wanted to make sure she knew that. "Ginny?"

Ginny picked up her head and he looked into her eyes. He put his hand on her cheek, leaned in and kissed her lips softly. It was just a simple kiss but it meant so much more. It was a new beginning for Harry and Ginny and the answer to their problem.

"So... um..." Harry started, still in heaven from feeling his lips on hers. "Will you come stay with me again next week?"

Ginny threw her arms around his neck and he could feel her nod her head enthusiastically. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder and he noticed her breathing become unsteady. She whispered "yes" over and over. She was crying... It was the first time Harry had been happy to see Ginny cry.

* * *

(A/n- There it is. The next chapter. And I'm sure that all of you hate me by now for not updating. I have been going all over the place to do College music auditions and it's really getting old. But I got into all three that I auditioned for so far. And for all those who wished me luck for my Les Miserables auditions... I think your luck worked because I was casted as Eponine (Which is what I was aiming for)! So those were my excuses for not updating. Please forgive me! And please review! Thanks so much for reading!)

**_Jenna_**


	13. Thank you

**Say You Won't Care**

**_Chapter 12_**

**Thank you**

**

* * *

**

There was a soft knock on the door and the moment they had been dreading had arrived. Knowing that she would be back in a week made the departure much easier than expected. Harry and Ginny kissed one last time before letting Hermione into the house.

"Hello Harry, you're looking well this morning," Hermione said surprised as she hugged him. Ginny and Harry exchanged quick glances and smiled.

"So Hermione, Do you think that this same arrangement can stand again for next week?" Harry asked in a business like tone, making Ginny giggle.

Hermione looked at Ginny and her eyes lit up. She knew that they would have a lot to talk about on the way home. "Um, Of course Harry. So you aren't angry with me for letting out your little secret?" Hermione asked raising her eyebrows.

"How could I be?" Harry replied, and winked at Ginny.

"Alright, great so I guess I'll be seeing you next week then," Hermione said happily.

"Most deffinetly."

"See ya Harry," Ginny smiled at him and they walked out of the front door.

* * *

Ginny waited until they had safely apparated out of the woods before making any sound. Everything was all clear and Ginny jumped on Hermione and gave her the biggest hug she has ever given. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ginny squealed, not able to hold her excitement back anymore. 

"Waoh!" Hermione laughed trying to get her balance, "So I'm guessing it went well?"

Ginny replied with another excited squeal. And finally let Hermione out of her bone-crunching embrace. Hermione asked curiously about the last two day's events.

Ginny explained everything that happened, from their fight when she first arrived, until their kiss right before she left.

"So you are officially his girlfriend again?" Hermione asked.

"I don't really know, it's not the same as it used to be anymore. We aren't school kids anymore..."Ginny pondered for a moment. "I think it might be bigger than the whole girlfriend/boyfriend thing. We're not just giggling and kissing before classes... we are putting our lives at stake just to be able to see him."

Hermione nodded, understanding exactly what she meant.

"'Mione, I don't think I could ever thank you enough for bringing me to him," Ginny smiled.

"Well, I didn't just do it for you... I did it for Harry too. I've been getting so worried about him." Hermione said sadly. "You saw how tired he looks, and he just wasn't the same anymore. And, I thought maybe that you would be just the thing he needed, something more to fight for. So I guess I should thank you."

"For what?" Ginny asked confused.

"Just for caring about him like you do. For helping him finally get some sleep..."

"But I was only there one day, I didn't even do anything to..."

"Just," Hermione cut her off, "... thank you. Accept it." Hermione seemed kind of distant as they continued to walk towards the burrow.

"What's wrong," Ginny asked as a fierce breeze whipped at their faces. It was getting closer to winter and they could feel it.

Hermione shivered. "I can't say, not here. It is nothing you have to worry about right now."

Ginny couldn't help but think that her tone of voice didn't sound very uplifting. "Well, can I know eventually?"

Hermione nodded, "Its just some other things I've been worrying about. I'll talk to you about it tonight. Ok?"

Ginny tried to look into Hermione's eyes to try and see what she was feeling, but Hermione looked down at the floor at the leaves crunching under her feet. They walked in silence for a while longer until Ginny thought of something that had occurred to her yet.

"You didn't tell anyone did you?" Ginny asked.

"We'll talk about all this later, Ginny," Hermione said shortly. It was obvious that Ginny's question had hit a nerve.

Ginny was startled by her tone, but couldn't resist asking again for the simple answer she sought. "Ok, but did you tell..."

"No!"

"Thank you..." Ginny said, she was satisfied with the answer but worried about Hermione's short temper on the subject. She decided it best not to bring it up again. But for now, they would walk in silence.

* * *

The two girls arrived at the door of the burrow and before they entered Hermione grabbed Ginny's arm and said quietly to her, "Apparate to my apartment at 7:00 we will talk then." 

"Got it."

"Oh and one more thing," Hermione put a rolled up copy of 'The Quibbler' into Ginny's hand and said, "You had a great time at Luna's and you guys listened to the new Weird Sisters album."

"Right. And how was that?" Ginny asked jokingly.

"Not as good as the first," Hermione smiled, and Ginny was relieved to see it. With all this established they walked into the house together, ready for some little white lies and a good home cooked meal.

* * *

It was 7:00 and apparated to Hermione's door. She let her in and closed and bolted the door to her tiny apartment. The apartment was very much like Hermione, neat and tidy, nothing out of place. Hermione told Ginny to go sit on the couch, and Hermione returned soon after with two cups of tea. 

"So why couldn't we just have talked about whatever it is when we were walking?" Ginny inquired.

Hermione set the tea down on the table and said, "Because anybody could have been around listening... hiding. You don't even know what I am going to talk to you about yet."

"Well why can't somebody be listening here?" Ginny asked confused, but she really just enjoyed challenging Hermione.

"Harry's house isn't the only place with charms on it, you know," Hermione said matter of factly. "So, it really isn't anything urgent that I needed to talk to you about. Its just something I need to get out of my system. I can't talk about it with Ron, he says I'm overreacting... but I really think he is just worried. You know how he does that? He tried to brush things off but I think-"

"'Mione!" Ginny cut her off, "I know how my brother is. You don't need to explain."

"Sorry... So anyway. I just have been getting so paranoid lately. I just keep thinking of all the horrible things that could happen. I feel like everyone is getting too comfortable with going to see Harry. What if everyone stops taking the proper precautions and become careless. We could be followed and lead the dark wizards right to Harry's front door. That is why I don't want to tell you how to get there on your own. At least if you are with me I know you won't be followed. I am too paranoid to forget to be careful."

"Well I don't think that is overreacting at all," Ginny said, trying to be comforting.

"I can't even begin to think of the things that could happen to Harry, or even to us. The could take us as well, as bait... a ransom..." Hermione's voice started to sound more agitated. "They could try to torture information out of us... I just can't think of it!"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Hermione," Ginny tried to rationalize. "Just keep reminding everyone to be careful... I'm sure they wouldn't want to risk anything like that happening."

"Why do you think I got so mad at you before when you asked if I told anyone?" Hermione changed the subject.

Ginny, thought for a second, "Well I know I shouldn't ask you to keep secrets from Ron and everything, but if he knew I stayed with Harry overnight, alone ... he would kill me, or worse, kill Harry!" Ginny smiled a bit at this.

Hermione's eyes flared. "This is not funny Ginevera! Keeping secrets from Ron is only a small part of this whole situation. Do you realize that I am the one putting you in harm's way. If something were to happen to you, nobody would even know, because nobody would know where you went. If you were killed it would all be MY fault. I could never live with myself!"

Ginny's thoughts raced. She never thought about all the danger she could be in... or the danger she could be putting Harry in. But, did this mean Hermione was going to tell? If she told anyone they might not let her see Harry again.

Ginny was panicking and Hermione could tell. They could practically always tell what the other was feeling. "Will you calm down," Hemione huffed. "I won't tell. At least, not yet. I just want you to realize the extremely tough spot you are putting me in. I am putting a lot of things on the line... including my relationship with your family... Do you understand?"

Ginny nodded. She was relieved, but Hermione's argument made her feel very guilty. Ginny hugged Hermione. It was Ginny's way of saying that she understood, and also a way of saying thank you.

* * *

(A/n- Hello everyone... lets play a game called... PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! That took really long, and I don't feel like making my excuses. Well. Our Les Miserables has closed... and I miss it so much. I'm still grieving, but I suppose I will hopefully have more to write. Get ready for the next chapter. It will have fluff. :-) So what did you think about this one. Good? Let me know. Thanks to all who have faith in me... I will finish it. I have never left a Harry Potter Fic unfinished! Thanks to all the reviewers too!

_-Jenna-_

Oh, p.s.- If anyone asked me to send them "Do you remember now" (Fic, deleted by I am sorry I lost the e-mails... if you ask again I promise to send it!


	14. The still moving picture

**-Say You Won't Care-**

**_-Chapter 13-_**

**_-The Still Moving Picture-_**

After some fibbing and some small talking with her mother, Ginny ran upstairs to unpack her bag. When she pulled out Harry's sweatshirt she brought it to her face to breathe in the scent of cologne. She let out a small squeal of happiness and flopped down on her bed.

She couldn't even believe the events of the past two days had actually happened. But, the proof was right there in her hands. She sighed and put the sweatshirt under her pillow... Next week couldn't come soon enough.

-

* * *

- 

The six days leading up to her next visit felt like some of the longest days of Ginny's life. She tried to busy herself with housework, cooking, reading, gardening, sleeping... anything to speed up the time. She found herself smiling excessively and she realized that she had to act like nothing had happened. She had a lot of trouble pretending to be as mopey as she used to be but she didn't mind.

On the day before she was to leave again she packed her bag eagerly when she woke up in the morning and stowing it safely out of sight under her bed. She had a whole day of preparing little white lies about where she would be and confirmed the plan with Hermione that night before she went to bed. The plan remained the same as the time before only replacing Luna with one of her other friends.

Hermione arrived in the morning as usual, bright and early. Ginny had slept much better than she had before the first time she went to him, but still got up early enough to obsessively pick out an outfit and bake a batch of cookies to bring with her.

Before long Hermione bid Ginny farewell and disapparated while Ginny walked up to the front door of Harry's hideout feeling more confident than last week but still nervous. She knocked on the door gently and heard the locks of the door unlatch and when the door didn't open she decided to open it herself.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she would see and hear in the next couple of minutes. Just on the other side of the door Harry had collapsed to the floor with his face in his hands, his hair was sticking out at odder angles than usual as if he had been pulling it. He seemed to shake and she realized he was sobbing. It took a second to realize what she was seeing but then she instantly locked the door behind her and rushed to his side.

"Harry its me," Ginny said, worry filling her voice, scared to death of what could have happened. "What's wrong, Harry!"

He didn't answer, but only seemed to cry louder. His voice sounded hoarse. Ginny rubbed his back in attempt to calm him down, but knew that it wouldn't help much. "Harry you can tell me what happened, I'm here for you..." she said trying to be as calming as possible. She glanced around the room to see if there was anything out of the ordinary when she realized that there were things strew across the floor that looked like they had been thrown and there was a hole punched into the wall.

"Did someone hurt you!" Ginny asked getting more and more frantic that he wasn't talking. She pulled at his arm slightly to try to get him to look at her. He took his hands down long enough to sit up and throw his arms around her neck. She felt his jagged breathing and his tears as she held him close to her. She wrapped her arms tight around him and for the first time she could actually feel how thin his stomach had become.

They stayed there like that for some time before Ginny decided to ask him again what had happened.

This time he pulled away from her so he could try to speak. "Neville..." Harry was so out of breath he could hardly get out what he needed to say. "He was missing since... since last night."

Ginny looked at him intently, trying to take in what he was saying. She still couldn't see his whole face. His dark hair fell over his eyes and he was looking down. She took both of his hands and squeezed them gently, in a subtle way she tried to help him to finish telling her what was wrong.

"He was missing and they only found him an hour ago..." He took shallow breaths between his sentences, "They tortured him to death... trying to get information out of him. They were trying to.. To find me. They tortured him... He wouldn't talk! He died for me! HE DIED BECAUSE OF ME!" When he said this he finally looked up at her and it made the whole situation feel more real. His eyes were bloodshot and his lip was quivering. "I can't even begin to count the people who have died because of me, Ginny!"

Ginny was so scared, she didn't know what to say to him. There were no words she could find to try and comfort him. Not to mention the fact that she was also very grieved to hear about Neville's death.

"So many people have lost their lives protecting me, fighting with me... Who's to say when it will all stop. Anyone could be next! Ron, Hermione... you... YOU could be next!" Harry was screaming now. "Why do people want to stay by me when their lives can be taken at any second. I don't know what I would do... what if they got you next... I can't..." He began to cry softer now as he looked her in the eyes. "I couldn't ever let something like this happen to you..." He said so softly that his voice sounded eerie.

Harry picked up an envelope that she hadn't noticed sitting by his side and he handed it to her. She opened it and saw what had gotten Harry so worked up in the first place. It was an envelope sealed by the dark mark and on the inside the first thing she came across was a brief letter. She feared that it had been written in blood by the hue of the ink. She unfolded the letter and read its frightening contents to herself:

_ If you think this is bad, we have only just begun. How many of your friends do we have to kill before you realize that you aren't worth it? We'll never stop. Come out, come out, wherever you are!_

Ginny felt goose bumps rise in her skin and tears start to sting at her eyes. Harry had watched her read it and when she started to flip to the next page of the envelope he turned his head away and grabbed his hair. When she saw what she was holding in her hands she could barley even breathe.

It was a photograph of Neville's lifeless tortured body lying still on the grass. She could see the shine of his blood in the moonlight in such an intense contrast with his pale skin. It was a moving photograph but the only thing moving was the wind blowing the blades of grass underneath him. Next to her she could hear Harry murmuring, "No...no..." It made it all feel so real she could almost feel the icy wind blowing over her as well as she watched him lie there.

She felt sick to her stomach and the next second she stood up and bolted to the bathroom, leaving Harry sobbing in a heap on the livingroom floor.

* * *

Eeeeee... That was depressing. Deffinetly intense.Kinda short, butI wanted to leave it on a chilling moment.Sorry for not writing in such a long time, but now it is officially summer and I graduated! Wooo. Next chapter will be up soon becuase I am on a roll! Thanks to all those who reviewed and waited for me to update:-)

_-Jenna-_


	15. The aftermath

**_Say You Won't Care_**

**Chapter 14**

**The aftermath**

**_-_**

About ten minutes later Ginny sat back against the bathroom wall. The tile felt cold against her skin which matched the beads of cold sweat on her forehead. Her throat burnt and tears still hung around her eyes.

She carefully stood up in front of the sink, rinsed off her face, and rinsed out her mouth. She felt dizzy and disoriented and she tried to steady herself by grabbing onto the sides of the sink. She slowly looked up at herself in the mirror and her own appearance seemed to shock her. She felt the water drips slowly roll down her face as she took in the sickly color of her complection. She reached up and tucked back the strands if hair hanging in her eyes.

She just stood there for another five minutes, staring and thinking. She looked at herself wondering how much more of her life could be spent feeling like this. She wondered how strong she could be compared to Harry. She wondered how often he broke down like this in front of people... or at all.

Once she felt steady enough to go back out there she stepped cautiously into the hallway. She looked up only to see Harry walking slowly towards her as well. Before she knew it they were face to face. His eyes were bloodshot and hers were distant. He opened his mouth for a second to say something but closed it a second later, deciding against it.

Ginny couldn't think of a single thing to say to him about the situation either. Neither of them really knew how to act after what had just happened.

For Harry, it all happened so fast. He was so excited about Ginny coming back and he was pacing around the floor. He had spent his free time the day before hustling around cleaning because he felt like it was the only thing he could do to prepare for her. Then, it was only moments before she was supposed to arrive and he opened to the door to find Remus instead. Surprise visits never did turn out well. He was in such a hurry to go investigate that he flat out told him that Neville had been tortured to death and handed him the envelope that had been sent to them. He told him that by orders he was not allowed to go to the funeral no matter how much he wanted to and then said that he had to leave. Harry didn't even have a chance to open the envelope until after Remus walked out the door leaving Harry in complete shock. He opened the envelope and felt such a rush of sickness, shock, and anger that he punched his fist into the wall, smashing the plaster in and ripping the skin on his hand. From that second on he became hysterical, which was only seconds before Ginny arrived.

Now, in the aftermath of everything they awkwardly stared into each other's eyes trying to find something... anything close to an assurance that things would be alright. They wanted to hear that everything was going to turn around. Though they both wanted to hear this, neither of them could bring themselves to say the words, because deep down they knew that it would only get worse before it got better.

Harry motioned for Ginny to follow him and he walked into the kitchen. He knew that she must feel terrible after getting so sick so he poured her a glass of water. He handed it to her and while he did she noticed the blood on his knuckles.

"Harry," she said worried, her voice sounding foreign after so much silence, "What happened to your hand?" She looked at him sadly as she took the water from him.

Harry ran his hand through his hair and exhaled tiredly. He was silent for a second, staring into space. She tried not to look right at him when he did this, so she sat sipping her water. When he spoke his voice sounded angry and ashamed, but still soft an melancholy, "Didn't you see the wall?"

In all the commotion and hysteria, Ginny had forgotten all about the hole she had seen in the livingroom wall. 'Oh...' was all Ginny said and she looked down at the cup of water in her hands. She bit her lip for a second before asking carefully, "Can I help you?"

"I'm starting to think that nobody can," Harry said blankly.

Ginny's felt her heart drop, she didn't mean to ask like that and she corrected her question clumsily. "Um... I meant, can I help you bandage your hand?" She looked up at him for an answer.

Harry gave a slight nod and followed Ginny back into the bathroom. Ginny turned on the water and let it run until it was warm. She reached for his hand and it put it under the faucet.

Ginny thought about how giddy she felt the first time she touched his hand last week, but now the feeling had changed. As she rinsed his hand under the water she felt so protective of him, like she needed to do anything to hold on to him. She just wanted to save him.

She shut the water off, dried his hand and told him to sit down. He sat on the edge of the tub as she looked in the cabinets for a bandage. It was so silent in the room that each time she moved something around in the cabinet the sound it made felt like a racket. She pulled out some gauze and she wet a washcloth as well. She kneeled in front of him taking his hand and blotting away the blood once more before she began gently wrapping the gauze around his hand.

He watched her with admiration for taking care of him the way she was. She moved so slowly and touched his hand so softly. He looked at her face and she looked so different to him. Her beautiful face looked so sad and concerned. Seeing her like that made it hard to picture her when he first met her. That little girl had grown up so fast and now she would have to face such horrible things with him.

"I never thought it would be this hard..." Harry said sorrowfully. He said it not only as a realization to himself, but also as an apology to Ginny.

Ginny tied off the gauze and finished Harry's bandage. She looked into his eyes and reached up to touch his face. "I know, Harry..." She smiled slightly as he closed his eyes and sighed. "...I know."

When they both think back on that morning, they remember it only as a terrifying blur when they briefly lost all control of their emotions. One thing that they now knew was that the times ahead of them would be the hardest times they have faced in their lives so far. And, no matter how horrible things got for them, Harry and Ginny knew that they needed to face them together or they might not make it through.

* * *

-

For about an hour after Ginny finished bandaging Harry's hand they just quietly shuffled around the house. Ginny brought her bag upstairs into the guestroom and Harry made some breakfast for the. They just needed some time to think and reflect on everything that was happening, and they respected each other for that. When they were ready they began to speak more and more until they were back to normal, or as normal as you could be after the death of a loved one.

They spent the rest of the day just sitting around talking. They talked about all of the good times they had with Neville and about how much they would miss him. They talked about what they think might happen next. They talked about the dreams that they had for their lives and how dramatically those dreams had changed with each passing month. They talked about how thankful they were for each other.

The sun had set and the hours passed by quicker than they had thought. They got into their pajamas and laid down on Harry's bed, though they knew that sleep would not come easily that night.

"I'm never going to be able to sleep," Harry pointed out to Ginny as she snuggled up beside him. "Will you stay up with me?"

Ginny leaned in boldly and kissed his lips for the first time that day, "Of course I will."

Harry looked into her eyes and felt all the horrors of his day melt away. "I love you so much..." Harry whispered, not originally intending to say it out loud, but then very glad that he did. He had been waiting so long to say it outloud. He spent all those months apart from her when he knew that they should be together. He smiled at her shyly, his face inches from hers on the pillow.

Ginny kissed him softly once more and said, "I love you too... I always have."

* * *

(a/n- Well I must say that was one of my quickest updates in a long time! Haha, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know! Review it up! Thanks for all who reviewed last chapter!)

**-_Jenna-_**


	16. Coffee and Insomnia

**Say You Won't Care**

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Coffee and Insomnia**_

-

Enough light had begun to shine through the curtains for Ginny and Harry to finally consider it morning. It was time for Harry to give up his fight to achieve a few hours of sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The sleepless night had been long but was much easier to bear with Ginny to keep him company. The night was spent talking quietly and sweetly to each other about how amazing it felt to finally be together. Harry told her about how before she came to him he was wondering how much longer he could survive day after day alone in that house while his friends all fought for him outside.

Ginny told him about how she found the letter he intended to send to her hidden in the library the week before. Harry was embarrassed, but pleased to hear that she knew he was trying to contact her and didn't just give up.

Whenever they weren't talking the were just holding each other. They were content to just look into each other's eyes or to feel the other's heartbeat so close. They kissed lovingly, sweet delicate kisses. There were moments when Ginny could feel Harry's tongue graze her lip softly. He treated her like an angel and was so gentle with her. She adored him and the way he made her feel. The way he treated her caused her to momentarily think back to the way things were right before Harry had realized his feelings for her the year before.

She had loved Harry all along, and when she had lost all hope for a while she tried to replace her feelings for him. She looked to other guys to try and fill the void. They made her feel like a trophy and she felt so used. It was then that she knew that this was not the kind of life that she wanted to live and that she still wasn't over Harry. When she finally ended things with Dean once and for all she wondered if she would ever find someone who would treat her right.

She didn't have to wonder for long because soon after Harry had come around and she had faith in herself again. He never made her feel cheap the way the other guys did. With him she felt like his equal, a part of him. As she thought about this Harry noticed her eyes look distant and asked her what was bothering her. He always knew when something wasn't settled in her mind. She told him everything she was thinking about and thanked him for being so good to her. The only thing he had said back was, "Well, thank _you_ for being the girl of my dreams."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

By the morning, Ginny had grown exhausted and she knew that if she had been at home she would be extemely irritable. But, she was almost thankful for the whole night without sleep because she felt like she had spent so much more time with Harry.

Ginny stretched with a great yawn and sat up on the bed next to Harry. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Go ahead, _I'm_ going to make some breakfast. Any requests?" Harry asked with a smile, happy that finally Ginny would not be allowed to take over the preparing of meals. He always felt so bad that she always served him food. She was HIS guest.

"Mmmm... coffee." Ginny said with a dreamy look in her eyes. She was hoping it would wake her up.

"Coffee?" Harry exclaimed. "I never get to make you anything and you ask for coffee?"

"Yes please," Ginny giggled and kissed him before hopping off the bed.

Harry couldn't remember the last time he had coffee. He tended to stay away from it hoping it would increase his chance of ever getting any shut eye. "Fine I'll make you coffee. But, I am going to make something else too. Coffee is too easy," Harry said stubbornly.

"Ok grouchy... just as long as there is coffee," Ginny winked and him and walked out the doorway.

"You are a pain you know that!" Harry joked. Ginny popped her head in the door for another second only long enough to stick out her tongue and run away to the bathroom. Harry smiled to himself, "So mature..." he said and sighed before setting off downstairs to the kitchen.

Not long after Ginny walked into the kitchen and plopped down at the table. She was all dressed and neat, except for her hair which looked like she had just towel dried it, making her hair even more curly than ususal (if it was possible). He decided that he really like the wild curls on her. Then he began thinking about how he must look. His hair was probably sticking up from laying on the pillow all night and he was still in his flannel pajamas. He ran his hands though his hair as a quick attempt to fix it.

"I saw that," Ginny giggled. "You look _wonderful_ darling," she added in a mock fashion show voice.

Harry just grumbled at her as he put breakfast down on the table and poured her some coffee.

"Thank you," She kissed him on the cheek. Harry grinned still not quite over the fact that they were _officially_ back together.

As they ate, Ginny noticed Harry looking over at the collage of newspaper clippings on the wall. It hurt to know that as soon as Harry got another newspaper, Neville would join the collage of innocent people who's lives were taken by Voldemort.

"The funeral is probably gonna be in a few days," Harry said sadly. "Do you think you are gonna go?"

Ginny hadn't even thought about that. She almost forgot that she wasn't the one in hiding and was free to go the funeral "Yes, I'm going to go," She said, but deep down inside she dreaded to see one of her dear friends buried.

"Well um, can you do something for me?"

Ginny looked at him questioningly.

"Can you wait until nobody is around and say goodbye to him for me," Harry asked and tears began to well up in his eyes just thinking about it.

Ginny went over to Harry and pulled him into a tight embrace. Ginny would do anything she could to help him through these hard times. "I will, I promise."

-

Two hours later there was a knock on the door and they let Hermione into the house. Her face was solemn and Harry and Ginny both knew what was coming next.

"I heard about, Neville. I can't believe it," Hermione said looking at them with sad eyes, but she was mostly looking at Harry. "He never hurt anybody, why him. I just can't believe it." Hermione hugged Harry tightly.

Harry and Ginny could tell that she hadn't seen the picture or read the letter left with his body, and the thought that it was for the best that she never did. She had enough to worry about as well.

Harry took Ginny's hand in hers as they stood talking for a little while. Harry wished he never had to let her walk out that door again.

Hermione added that she was glad to see that Harry was taking the news of Neville's death very well. "You are so strong," Hermione said admiringly.

Harry just responded with a half smile, but he squeezed Ginny's hand as well. They were going to keep what actually happened when they found out as their own secret.

-

"He told me he loved me last night," Ginny said while fidgeting with her napkin in her hands. Hermione and Ginny were sitting in a cafe because Hermione needed to eat something for breakfast. Ginny had ordered another coffee and was informing Hermione on the newest development in her and Harry's relationship.

"You already knew that, didn't you?" Hermione asked, bringing up the letters and things that he had said the week before.

"Well yeah, but all this time I never got to say it back. It's just different now." Ginny yawned loudly and leaned her head in her hand.

"Ginny, you look so tired. Are you feeling ok?" Hermione was observing the dark circles formed under Ginny's eyes.

"Me and Harry didn't sleep all night. At all," Ginny pointed out.

Hermione raised a suggestive eyebrow at her. "You guys didn't... you know?" She asked carefully, not wanting to be rude in the cafe filled with breakfasting families.

"What?... oh! No no. We've barely even snogged yet," Ginny said openly, clearly not caring about her manners like Hermione.

Hermione was surprised. "But you have thought about it, right?"

"No not really."

I just figured since you two are so entirely unsupervised, there would never ever be a chance of anyone interrupting..." Hermione explained herself.

"I mean, I thought about before we spilt up the first time. I had imagined what our first time might be like. Lately, I have just been so worried about just seeing him at all that the thought hasn't even crossed my mind. But now I'm going to wind up thinking about it. Thanks a bunch!" Ginny said sarcastically.

-

"Ginny you look so tired!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed not too long after Ginny walked into the house after breakfast with Hermione. "Your face is a little pale, do you feel alright? Are you catching a cold?" She felt her head with the back of her hand.

"I'm fine, I'm fine Mum," Ginny tried to shoo away her moms hand from her forehead. "Just a bit tired, you know how sleepovers are..."

Mrs. Weasley stopped for a second and thought. "I remember back in my young days. All those sleep overs we would have talking about boys and..."

That was all Ginny heard before tuning out her mum's reminiscing and mentally smacking herself in the head for getting her started. Somewhere in the middle of her mum's winded story about the best sleepover party she had ever been to, Ron came downstairs and sat across from them at the kitchen table.

Ron looked at Ginny for second and said cutting of their mother, "Wow Gin, you look like hell."

"Thanks," Ginny snapped sarcastically. She was getting irritable from her lack of sleep and was in no mood to deal with any lengthy stories or snotty brothers. "I'm gonna go lay down for a little while, and maybe I'll feel better. Sorry about not hearing your whole story Mum, but I'm sure Ron would like to hear it."

Ginny walked up the stairs smirking and hoped that Ron would not get away without having to sit through the long and the unfortunately uninteresting story.

The moment Ginny walked in the door of her small room, she put some pajamas on and laid down on the old quilt on her bed. Only seconds after she put her head on the pillow she had fallen immediately to sleep. Ginny had obviously not yet developed Harry's insomnia.

* * *

(a/n- Another fairly quick update, which is odd becuase I've been working alot. I guess I'm just on a roll. I hope you enjoyed the fluff and I hope you are enjoying the story.Just to let you know, it will get much more excitingpretty soon after the next chapter (The funeral). Please review and thanks for reading?

_-**Jenna-**_


	17. Funeral Flowers

**Chapter 16**

**_Funeral Flowers_**

Everybody looked shockingly similar that frigid autumn morning. Black dresses and robes whipped in the ice cold breeze as all arms were wrapped tightly around their bodies for warmth. Faces were pale and expressions detached as everyone in the cemetery counted the people they knew that had been buried during these dark times. Eyes glazed as they realized that Neville wouldn't be the last.

Ginny stood with her family, looking exactly like the rest but feeling entirely different. Everyone was feeling the usual pain you would feel when losing a friend or loved one. But, Ginny knew more... saw more... and wished that she hadn't.

The ceremony was touching, full of tears and bittersweet smiles in memory of a such a kind soul. Families and friends lingered for some time after the burial sharing stories and sharing sympathy. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley approached Luna, who looked so calm compared to her usual hyper and quirky self. Her face wasn't lit up ready to tell the latest story in her fathers paper. She wasn't wearing her odd jewelry that she made from scratch. She looked normal, and Ginny knew that Luna was almost never normal. When Luna saw Ginny and her mother, she immediately hugged them both.

"Ginny, I've missed you. I haven't seen you in ages..." Luna said with a slightly sad tone in her voice.

Ginny's heart stopped at that moment, hoping her mother had not just picked up on what Luna had said. Ginny was so stunned at Luna's comment that she couldn't think of a thing to say on the subject. She was so relieved when Luna changed the subject on her own. Ginny stood there the whole time cursing herself for not thinking about that problem beforehand.

After they finished talking to Luna, her mother announced that they should be heading back home. The cemetery was almost empty and everyone was officially emotionally drained.

"I think I'm going to stay here a bit longer, Mum. I'm not ready to leave yet,"

"Ok, Gin. See you when you get home. Don't stay here too long. It's not safe for a young girl to be in a cemetery all by herself. Especially these days."

"Yes Mum," Ginny said, knowing she was so close to being free from her mothers questions once more.

"Why did Luna say she hasn't seen you in ages? Didn't you just sleep at her house last week?" Mrs. Weasley asked curiously. Ginny thought she was going to get away without any questions asked, but she thought too soon.

It was a good thing that Ginny was becoming skilled at dodging peoples suspicions with her little white lies. "Oh mum, it's Luna. You know how she over exaggerates."

"Oh, I guess you are right," Mrs. Weasley said, but Ginny could tell that she wasn't wholly convinced. It was good enough for now. "Oh well, I'll see you when I get home."

"Bye Mum."

And, with one hug and a quick popping sound , Mrs. Weasley had vanished and was probably already home in the kitchen. All that was left for Ginny to do was to wait for everyone else to leave. She had an important promise to keep.

Ginny sighed and looked around her. The cemetary was almost empty and families were slowly leaving after final sympathies and goodbyes were said. Soon she noticed it was just her and Neville's grandmother left in the cemetery.

She suddenly felt awkward being there when she knew that his grandmother needed to say her own goodbyes. Ginny decided to take a walk to give her space to say goodbye to her grandson. With one last look at a woman who has dealt with almost as much tragedy as Harry, Ginny turned and walked out of sight.

She walked between two long rows of the headstones of "Beloved Wives," "Cherished Sons," and all other sorts of depressing epitaphs. She walked until she could no longer see Neville's grave site, and found a seat on the ground under an oak tree. She thought briefly of her mother and her disapproval if she knew Ginny was sitting on the grass in her dress robes, let alone a dress meant for mourning. She was beginning to think that she really didn't care about her mother's many little rules for proper lady etiquette. There were so many more important things to worry about, that etiquette was starting to feel trivial to her.

Ginny sighed and leaned her head back so it hit hard against the bark of the tree. All the thoughts of and events of the past few weeks crashed through her head like tormented waves.

She shook her head sadly and looked up at the leaves above her. They were so bright that they look like fire covering every inch of the tree. A breeze blew and the leaves rustled, letting a few fall slowly around her. She felt herself slowly relaxing while the leaves dropped one by one. Some even occasionally brushed against her cheeks as Ginny closed her eyes and let her troubles melt away...

* * *

A twig snapped somewhere around her, or at least she thought one did, and she immediately snapped out of her short snooze against the tree. She stood up and brushed a couple of leaves off of her lap. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed loudly, which she found herself doing very often lately. On her way back towards Neville's site she firmly told herself in her head that she should not have let herself fall asleep in the graveyard, or anywhere public for that matter. 

Ginny knelt down upon the soft fresh dirt of Neville's grave and ran her fingers over the chiseled marble letters on his tombstone. A soft breeze blew the scent of fresh funeral flowers across her face. It smelled beautiful, though it made her feel sick to her stomach all at the same time. It all felt so unreal to her that she didn't really want to believe it. But, deep down inside she knew that this was actually goodbye, and not just for her. She promised Harry that she would say a proper goodbye for him, but he had never told her what to say.

"You know, kid," Ginny said looking up at the sun for a second, "I'm sure you are up there watching us, and I'm sure you saw exactly how me and Harry reacted when we found out. So, I doubt that there is any need to tell you how upset we were. You already know how angry, how sick... how utterly devastated we both were. I'm not here to talk about those things. I'm here to tell you how amazing you were while you were with us. You were kind and gentle and though you always had very poor luck, you always had the best intentions. Not to mention that you were one hell of a yule ball date. Who ever knew you were such a dancer." Ginny smiled to herself for a second thinking about the better days, before continuing. "...My god, I'm going to miss you..."

Ginny's eyes began to tear and she knew that she had to keep talking before she couldn't anymore. "Harry wanted me to say goodbye to you, but I know that isn't all of what he would say if he could be here. I know he would tell you that he was sorry for putting you in such a horrible position, but thank you for being so strong for him. He is so angry with himself for putting all the people he loves in danger. I'm trying to make him see that it isn't his fault, but he just cares so much about you that he doesn't listen. He wanted to be here so badly, but his order strictly stated that he stay put. I promised to tell Harry about the ceremony the next time I saw him. I also know that he would want to thank you for being such an amazing friend.

"You'll always be in our hearts... and, do you think you could do me a little favor? Watch out for Harry. Like, maybe you could be like a guardian angel or something?" Ginny asked carefully, then realizing that Harry probably already had several other people watching after him up there. Something out of the corner of Ginny's eye distracted her and made her realize that she had been there alone too long and it was about time she got going. "We love you, Neville." Ginny ran her fingers across the marble etching once more before standing up and walking her way out of the cemetery.

"Oh this is too sweet," said a low drawling voice as he watched Ginny's retreating figure from behind a nearby tree. And with a quick popping noise he apparated and found himself in front of the dark lord himself.

As he bowed in front of his master, Voldemort drummed his fingers impatiently upon his throne. "This better be something important, Young Malfoy, if you are showing up here un announced."

"Yes My Lord," he said, inside hoping that his information would be important enough. "I think the littlest Weasley knows the whereabouts of Potter as well."

"The girl?" he asked with a sniff.

"Yes sir, and from what I understand she is planning to see him again. Back in our Hogwarts days..." Draco began.

"Why would I care about your bloody Hogwarts days?" The Dark Lord snapped, becoming vexed.

"I assure you my Lord, you may find this important. Last year Potter and Weasley were together at school, and from what I heard, quite in love. And from the way she was talking at our last victims funeral, it sounded as if..."

Draco was cut off when Voldemort let out an understanding, "I see..." as he placed the tips of he long spindly fingers together. "I am pleased, Young Malfoy. Maybe Ginevra Weasley will prove to be of use to us once more before she dies..."

* * *

(A/n- that took long, but i guess not quite as long as usual right? hah I dunno. This is a very important chapter! I am gonna try to write more because college is fast approaching. I hope you liked it and please please review. I love to hear what you think. Thanks to all who reviewd last chapter too!)

**_Jenna_**


	18. Upstairs

_**Chapter 17**_

_**Upstairs**_

-

"Hello Darling," Ginny said happily hugging Harry after stepping through his door. She had a huge smile spread across her face as she always did the first time she saw him.

It was almost a month after Neville passed away, and the crisp fall was fast changing into winter. The ground began to frost and when you stepped outside you could see your breath in front of you. Chimney's everywhere were spouting smoke and people around the world were beginning to bustle around with Christmas on it's way. The first snow had not yet fallen, and on that particular day it had actually been pouring rain.

Harry brushed the raindrops softly off of Ginny's cheeks and took her winter coat to hang in the hall closet. "Did you guys get here ok? No problems?" Harry asked. It was his default question every time she arrived.

"Everything was just fine, as usual. We're very careful."

"Good girl,"Harry kissed her, warming her lips instantly.

Ginny and Hermione had fallen into a routine with Ginny's visits. Hermione would pick her up very early, drop her off and pick her up the next day. Afterward they would go to the same diner and get breakfast (or lunch depending on the time) and would brief each other on the new developments in their relationships. They would also spend some time making up stories to tell her mother of the things Ginny did while she was staying at whoever's house.

All things dealing with Voldemort and the Deatheaters had seemed to quiet down. In the month passed there had been no reported deaths, threats, kidnapings or major attacks related to Voldemort or his army. Everyone wondered whether or not this was a good thing. The order seemed to think he had something up his sleeve.

Ginny's visit with Harry progressed as usual. Ginny would always cook breakfast, much to Harry's dismay, but he would always enjoy it. There was always a time when Harry had to take a time out from their visit to do some sort of work, and Ginny would retreat to her favorite spot on the rug in front of the library fireplace. Ginny had recently decided that she should begin to learn and brush up on her spells just like Harry was, since she was no longer attending school and still had much to learn. She also wanted to be prepared in case she ever needed to think fast. They would sleep in each other's arms every night they were together. Some nights were better than others. Some nights Harry slept, sometimes he didn't. Ginny was always beside him no matter what.

It was late in the afternoon, though it looked like night with the raging thunderstorm outside, combined with all the shades in the house drawn at all times. Ginny and Harry were sitting on the couch in his livingroom, cuddling and keeping warm.

"My Mum is getting suspicious," Ginny brought up during one of their conversations.

"How so?"

"She's asking questions," she said looking a little worried. "She says things like 'Why are you so happy all of a sudden' or 'You never used to go out this much.' Then there is the, 'Maybe you should stay in this time. You look tired.'"

"Oh, well it doesn't sound like anything seriously threatening," Harry laughed a bit.

"She almost found me out when we were at the funeral. Luna almost blew my cover," Ginny explained what happened at the funeral. "Though, I felt so guilty that I used her as a cover that I made sure I hung out with her as soon as I could."

"Well that was nice of you," Harry joked, and Ginny made a face at him. "Well at least everything worked out. Your mum didn't find out."

"She would kill me if she found out about any of this. I wonder what she thinks I'm up to anyway," Ginny mused.

"Well, what are we up to?" Harry said in a more suggestive tone than he meant to.

"This," Ginny leaned in and kissed his lips, softly at first. They kissed slowly, Harry breaking away from her lips for a second to place a few kisses on her neck. Ginny nibbled lightly on Harry's bottom lip causing him to breathe heavily. His tongue parted her lips and before long their innocent kissing had quickly changed into a heated moment of passion. Ginny leaned back against the arm of the arm of the couch, as Harry's body leaned onto hers. Everything about her was driving him wild. The smell of her hair, the taste of her lips, the thought that they were finally together. His hand traveled from around her waist, up her small stomach until he cupped her breast in his hand. They pulled apart once he did this, staring into each other's eyes with blazing passion, but innocent nervousness. They panted loudly in the silence.

"Um, do you... want to go upstairs?" Harry asked carefully and out of breath.

Ginny nodded once slowly, and for a second all the lust seemed to have left their bodies as Harry smiled gently at Ginny. In a way he was silently asking if this was ok and was what she wanted. She smiled back at him and he knew that she felt exactly the same as him.

They stood and Harry took Ginny's hand slowly leading her up the stairs. He turned back to look at her as they walked. She looked as nervous as he felt, but also as excited. Since they had gotten back together they had taken it very slowly, in love and just glad to be near each other. But that day the freedom and their hunger for each other had kicked in so fast that it startled them both.

They walked through the door into his room and Harry laid Ginny's back down on his bed. Her soft crimson curls spread around her on the bed like a fan. Harry leaned on top of her as they kissed once more, passion pulsed through their veins making their heartbeats race. Harry lifted Ginny's sweater up and over her head amazed and marveled at hear beautiful body. He ran his hands across her milky white stomach, leaning down to kiss it and causing her to shiver. The rest of their clothes soon joined Ginny's shirt on the floor. Their hands explored each others bodies, kisses spread all across their skin.

Harry couldn't control himself for much longer. He wanted her, all of her, but he would never want to force her into something they weren't ready for. "Are you sure this is ok?" Harry asked out loud to her this time, pushing a curl away from her face.

Ginny looked at him with her wide caramel eyes, she loved him more than everything in the world. She reached up to touch Harry's face and said, "Make love to me, Harry."

Moments later their bodies finally became one and their hunger was fulfilled with pleasure. On that night Harry and Ginny took each other's virginity, taking their connection to a whole new level. Everything about their first time was beautiful, magical, and too intimate to be shared. All that can be said was that it was perfect, and they were a perfect fit.

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(a/n-That was a quick update. Short, but "action" packed wink haha. Hope the next one comes soon! Thanks for reading and pleeease review!)

Thanks to my always loyal reviewers...

KRB91

spyhorse

pettybureaucrat

-Jenna-


	19. Relieved or Mortified

-Say You Won't Care

-Chapter 18

-Relieved or Mortified

There could not have been a more beautiful moment as they lay there, still holding tightly to each other as the pleasure and the lust subsided. Harry kissed Ginny's lips lightly and she smiled, letting out a hushed laugh.

"You are amazing you know?" Ginny said in an airy voice, still panting and out of breathe.

"Oh? How so?" Harry smiled back at her.

"In everyway you could possibly imagine. And," Ginny kissed him harder once more, "That's why I love you so much"

They were relaxing now, laying close to each other on his bed. Their faces were so close that Harry could notice that the freckles on Ginny's nose had become much lighter over the years. He hadn't really even noticed that they were almost gone until that moment. That, like so many other things that had happened over the past few months, had pointed out to him that they truly were growing up and growing out of their old selves. They stayed like that for a while, mostly just savoring every second they had together and reflecting on what they had just done.

"I'm going to run downstairs and get a glass of water quick," Ginny said, "Do you want anything from the kitchen?"

"Water too, please."

Ginny slid out of bed and pulled a blanket around herself, tucking it underneath her arms and moving with some difficulty to the door. She heard Harry chuckling at her and she shook her head at her head at him. "Keep laughing… maybe I'll decide that we'll never do this again," she threatened with a mischievous grin.

"Hey! Hey!" Harry objected sitting up, "I was just laughing because you look so adorable."

Ginny looked at him skeptically, "Alright… I'll let it slide this time…" She said and she started down the stairs.

She got the glasses out of the cabinet and began to pour the water. Just as she finished pouring, Ginny heard the floor creak behind her. She turned around and saw a man in a soaking wet black cloak. Ginny let out an ear-piercing scream dropping the glasses of water onto the tile kitchen floor.

Upstairs Harry's heart stopped as he heard the glass breaking and Ginny's scream tearing through the air.

The man standing in front of Ginny removed his hood and Ginny's Jaw dropped. "Lupin!" Ginny choked out, immediately ashamed, and tried to cover herself more thoroughly with the blanket. She didn't know if she was more relieved that it was him, or more mortified. She just stood there clutching the blanket around herself, which was now up around her shoulders.

A second later Harry bolted down the stairs in his boxers a panicked expression. Lupin turned to look at him and Harry stopped dead in his tracks. Lupin just stood there staring him down for a while, while the thoughts began to race in Ginny's head.

All she could think was, 'Everything is over! I'm never going to see him again. He's going to blame me for putting Harry's life and the wizarding world in danger! He's going to tell my parents I've been lying… or worse…He's going to tell them I've slept with Harry!' Ginny decided that she needed to try and say something to try and explain. "Lupin… we,"

"Ginevra, go upstairs." Lupin ordered in a fatherly tone that made her feel like child again.

She didn't even try to question him. She just walked quickly to the stairs glancing into Harry's eyes quickly as she passed. They didn't say a word but their eyes pretty much told each other, "We are in So much trouble."

(A/n- I know I know this was the shortest chapter ever and it took a while to update, but I am finally settled in at college and now I can write more. But the reason the chapter is so short is because I have a MAC now and I don't know how to use it yet! Haha This chapter was kept short as a test to see if it posts correctly. Well it's kinda like a cliffhanger I suppose. Keep hangin in there… This is my favorite story I have ever written and I am so excited to write the parts to come. I have a feeling this will be a very long story! Review please and If the format is incorrect, I apologize in advance. Thanks!

Jenna

And here is an extended thanks to my reviewers (It's the least I could do after posting this pitifully short chapter…)

I love Ginevra- Well I can't promise anything :-/ Thanks for reviewing!

KRB91- Thank you for the review as usual! I'm glad you liked it!

Brolly-ann-miller- I tried to make it as least smutty as I could, and I'm glad you approved! I'm very glad you are my new loyal reader! Thanks!

Flutesrtooty- College… weird lol Writing fanfictions at college… weirder hahaha I MISS YOU!

harryginnyfan3369- Thank you very much! I'll try to kept he updates as frequent as I can.

nat- I'm so glad that you love it! Thank you, you made me smile!

pettybureaucrat- Of course it was safe sex! But I didn't want to write that in, it would have ruined the beautiful romantic flow of the scene. Your reviews are always so great to read, I look forward to them!

irishwolf14 – Hopefully the next chapter will come soon! And be longer for that matter!

Spyhorse- Thanks for your review as always! )


	20. Something is different

**Say You Won't Care**

**-Chapter 19-**

**-Something is different-**

Harry sat nervously on the couch in his navy blue boxers as Lupin paced angrily in front of him, trying to think of what to say first.

"I honestly can't understand what you two were thinking?" Lupin yelled finally. "Especially you, you should know better!"

Harry didn't say anything, he just sat there looking down and wringing his hands.

"Can you even imagine all the things that could have gone wrong…" he started to rant.

Harry knew this was coming because he gave Ginny his own scolding speech when she first showed up at his door. Only this time it was different because he was on the other side.

Harry tuned out a good portion of Lupin's lecture, and he zoned back in after hearing him say something about "Endangering the whole wizarding world."

"And this doesn't even have anything to do with the fact that I've caught you two practically naked! Though, it doesn't help your case at all. I just can't believe you, bringing her here, putting her and yourself in danger like that. How did she get here?"

Lupin asked making Harry's heart stop.

He tried to avoid the real answer to Lupin's question, "Ginny was getting depressed, she tried everything she could to find me… she wanted to know I was ok. She cares so much…"

"How, Harry?" Lupin asked firmly. He meant business.

"Hermione."

Lupin put his face in his hand and shook his head. "Out of all the people, I never would have expected her…" Lupin groaned, more to himself than to Harry. "This is not the kind of thing you need to be focusing on, Harry. You have to keep up your training and your studies. You have no time for..."

"Love," Harry said flatly, finishing his sentence.

"What did you say?" Lupin asked sternly.

"I don't have time for love? I shouldn't be focusing on caring about someone?" He asked cynically.

"I didn't say…"

"But its what you meant!" It was Harry's turn to raise his voice. "I think everyone forgets that I didn't ask for any of this shit!"

"Harry," Lupin said like he had heard it all before, which he probably had, but not like this.

"No! I have never been able to live normally before this, but now I'm thrown in here with no other choice. I know it's to protect me and to prepare, and that's fine, but what good am I if I go insane before I ever have to fight anyone! I started to think I might just decide to walk right out into the open on day, and screw all the consequences! It's just not fair! I don't eat, I don't sleep, I don't smile…" Harry trailed off, "unless she is here."

Lupin had resigned to just staring at Harry, realizing that there would be no way to cut him off now.

"She took care of me when you threw Neville's fucking death announcement at me and ran! She was the one who put up with screaming and the crying and bandaged my hand after I punched it through the wall! She stays up with me all through the night when there is no hope of sleeping. Ginny knows exactly what to say to make me feel better, and she knows when to say nothing all and to just hold me. She helps me get through this… sometimes its good to forget and get away from everything." Harry sighed and ran his hand through his messy hair before he continued. "Everyone wants to keep her from me. Everyone thinks she will be in too much danger if I love her, which may well be true, but everyone cares but her. Just the fact that she even came here shows that she is willing to take the risk that comes with being with me. She's already braced herself for tragedy, Lupin. How are you going to take her from me like this?"

Harry stared Lupin straight in the eyes, his stare boring right into his conscience.

Little did he know that moments before, Ginny had been nervously creeping down the stairs to spy on the extent of damage they did. She heard it, every single word. They may have been things she already knew, or things that she had done without giving any thought, but she felt stronger all of a sudden. She would admit that they had gotten themselves into quite a tough situation. But, from where she was standing she could see Lupin's face and could see that he felt it too. Harry wasn't going to let this go easily.

As she looked at him she knew, though she was pale and thin sitting on the couch in his boxers, he was and always had been her hero.

Ginny revealed her self around the corner of the stairway, now fully dressed in a maroon sweater and jeans. Harry noticed how she stood there and shuffled her feet for a second before walking. Harry thought she looked so adorable like that, when she was usually appeared so tough.

Ginny was scared, even though she did feel much more confident confronting her ex-professor fully clothed. "Hello, sir." Ginny said as formally as she could, smiling nervously. She sat next to Harry, whose jaw was clenched because he was still tense from ranting angrily. Ginny reached for Harry's hand and took it in her own. She rubbed is hand softly with her own, and he looked up into her eyes for a second. They didn't even take note that Lupin was watching them the whole time. Ginny smiled slightly at Harry and he became instantly calmer. They didn't need to talk; they could just read each other. This had all happened in a matter of seconds, all while Lupin stared in amazement. Up until that moment he had thought Harry was just being stubborn. But just from Ginny's small gestures, he could see a change in Harry. A change that no one else could bring. Adults often doubt young love, but he could see something different between them, and he hoped that he was right to believe this.

"You two put me into a very difficult position," Lupin said finally, sounding truly torn.

Harry and Ginny's attention immediately snapped back to Lupin, knowing that this statement meant that the fate of their visits would soon be decided.

"Every part of my conscience is telling me that this is a horrible idea and that I should take Ginny back to her parents immediately. You are too young and this is unsafe but… I just don't know," Lupin's face had changed from its hard stare. "Something is different here. There is something that is telling me that you two need this." Lupin said softly but seriously to both of them.

"We're telling you that we need this," Ginny said looking at Lupin earnestly.

Lupin smiled slightly and nodded.

"Does this mean we can still see each other?" Harry asked with a curious grin.

"I guess it does."

"Does that mean we don't have to tell my parents!" Ginny asked excitedly.

"Absolutely not," Lupin said, correcting her.

"Why!" she said angrily crossing her arms over her chest.

"Do you want to be able to see Harry again or not?" Lupin threatened. "You are lucky it was me that found you here like this, and not one of your brothers."

Ginny had a brief mental flash of the screaming that could have gone on if her any of her brothers would have caught her with Harry in only a blanket. She shivered a bit and resigned with an, "Ok ok…"

"Well, just let me handle your parents, because I know the best way to deal with them," Lupin added.

Once Ginny understood what Lupin was saying her attitude changed completely. "Thanks you! Thank you!" Ginny squealed, jumped up and hugged Lupin, causing him and Harry to laugh at her. "I-I'm just so happy… thankful…" Ginny beamed. "Do I have to be there when you talk to them," she stopped smiling for a second.

"I don't think you should."

"Even better!"

"Well I am glad that you are happy, but remember, just because you can come here, it doesn't mean the business that Harry has to deal with gets ignored," Lupin instructed firmly.

"Yes sir …I mean, No sir! Oh you know what I mean," Ginny was so excited she could hardly talk.

"Now that that is settled, I need to talk to Harry about some business in private. Can you excuse us for a moment?" Lupin asked, getting back to business as usual.

Ginny had no problem with this, she let them know happily that she would be in the kitchen making some lunch for all of them. Harry smiled as he watched her walk toward the kitchen until he couldn't see her anymore. Lupin watched him carefully and said to him, "She's really something, huh?"

Harry just smiled to himself and muttered a soft, "Yeah."

At that point, even though he knew he wasn't, Lupin felt like a proud father. And being his most fatherly figure, he realized there was something else he had to bring up with Harry.

"You did remember to use protection didn't you, Harry?"

It took Harry a second to realize what he was talking about. He couldn't believe that he was practically getting "the talk" from Lupin. He absolutely had been safe with Ginny, but most certainly did not want to talk about it.

"Lupiinn…" Harry said embarrassed.

"I'm being serious. You can never be too careful about those kind of things." He said, and pressed Harry again for his answer, "Well?"

"Yes!" Harry said finally, and Lupin grinned at Harry's embarrassment. "Merlin…" Harry grumbled.

"Good."

"Lunch is ready!" Ginny yelled from the kitchen.

They both stood to walk to the kitchen, but before they got to the doorway Lupin had to add one more thing, "My goodness Harry, is that any way to dress when going to lunch with a young lady?"

Harry looked down and realized he was still in his boxers. He bushed slightly and ran off up the stairs grumbling once again, this time it sounded vaguely like, "He thinks he's so funny…"

Lupin shook his head amusedly and walked into the kitchen to enjoy some lunch.

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(a/n- So that was the chapter, longer than the last and that is all that matters! Haha fairly quick update considering all the classes and crazy Choir rehearsals I've been having. Not to mention I have a super horrible cold, and I'm sneezing like crazy! So did you like it? There is a bit more mushy stuff to get through, but then the story will have some intense conflict. Please stick with me and keep up with the reviews 

Here is a thanks to my reviewers from last chapter…..

Irishwolf14- Thanks so much for the review. Honestly I never really thought about Hagrid being involved much in this story, but your review intrigued me. If you would like, you can send me a message with any Hagrid suggestions you may have, and I could consider them. ) Thanks again!

SloanePeterson-Thanks so much for the review! This chapter was less sad than the rest. :-)

LadyToxxik- I hope this chapter makes you laugh too (Though I hope all the laughing doesn't get you in trouble at work) Thanks for the review!

Chellina-Thanks so much for the sweet review! I try to update as often as I can!

Brolly-ann-miller- Well this chapter is all about what Lupin had to say, so I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks! )

KRB91- I know I know! I'm sorry it was short, but being my first post from my new computer and program and stuff it was more like a test drive. Haha. I hope you like this chapter as well! Thanks for the review as usual!

spyhorse- Thanks for the review, as always! This chapter was longer than the last thank goodness, though I will say that my chapters will never be called "long chapters"

pettybureaucrat- Yes they were very lucky it wasn't her parents, though I think Hermione would have cared less than Lupin because she already knew Ginny was there. School is going very well, thank you! By the way, I wasn't planning on adding that end part between Harry and Lupin until I read your review with the comments about safe sex. I thought it would be funny to add in. Hope you liked it! Thanks for the review :-)

Courtneeey- Insert thanks for Courtney's non-existent review here Lol Jk I know you read it. We really need to figure out how to get your computer to stop recognizing the review boxes as pop-ups. I miss your witty reviews almost as much as I miss you!

_-Sincerely, Your sneezing author-_

_-Jenna-_


	21. How did you do it?

**Chapter 20**

**How did you do it?**

"I cannot believe that you guys got caught! I cant believe that he sold me out to Lupin! You parents are going to flip! Your brothers are going to kill me!" Hermione exclaimed hitting her hands onto the cafe table, making their silverware clatter against their plates. Some people at the surrounding tables craned their necks around to see what the ruckus was about, including a pair of grandparents who had brought their grandkids out for breakfast. Others like the love struck couple in the corner and the tall businessman behind his newspaper couldn't be bothered with being nosey.

"You need to calm down. People are staring. And I think you are being a little selfish considering what I just went through and considering that right now, Right Now, as we speak, Lupin is telling my parents," Ginny tried to keep her voice level. "Do you even know how stressful that is? How am I supposed to be happy about what happened with Harry if I am panicking about whether or not my family will kill us when I get home?"

Hermiones face softened a bit, "Aw Gin, Im sorry. I forgot how big a day this should be for you. I remember how excited I was when me and Ron first did it..."

"Nooo," Ginny groaned. "I never wanted to actually hear that out loud."

"What did you think that we weren't going to even after all this time?"

"He's my brother. Ugh," Ginny scrunched her face up and tried to rid her head of any imagery that came up.

Hermione laughed, "Look whos the insensitive one now!"

Ginny just slumped and put her head in her hands, "I'm sorry I'm being stubborn. We've dealt with worse than this I suppose."

"Well I don't think Lupin is going to tell them about the state that he caught you guys in. He's smart enough to leave that bit out. But look at the bright side, maybe now that Lupin knows he may trust you to go see Harry on your own?"

They laughed a bit and the mood lightened as they finished their coffee and breakfast. Ginny braced herself for what was waiting for her at home as they pushed their chairs in and walked out of the cafe, apparating away to The Burrow.

The businessman let his newspaper drop to the table as he watched them walk away. "You ladies are getting a little sloppy, you are making this way too easy," Draco Malfoy thought to himself. The Dark Lord would be very pleased to hear that the youngest weasel will start traveling alone some time soon.

* * *

Lupin wasn't exactly sure how he was going to go about telling Molly and Arthur about Ginny's secret excursions to see Harry. It was best to keep everyone calm so he made sure to make it seem like she had only been to see him three times. He was right in believing that they would be angry, though Molly had begun to expect something was up. He explained to them as best as he could of the positive affect that it was having on Harry. Everyone knew how poorly he had been doing all alone there, and she seemed to be the best medicine.

"But its so dangerous, Remus. How can we let our daughter travel in and out of the woods on her own when every one of You Know Who's followers are devoting their every second to get where she is going!" Arthur said holding tight to his wifes hand.

"You let most of your other sons go out and take that risk. In Ginnys eyes that was the most insulting part."

"She is so young. Only 16..." Mollys eyes began to tear.

"She may be young, but she is also very brilliant and set in her ways," Lupin was trying his best to be convincing not only to the Weasleys but to himself as well. Though he knew that this was what was best for Harry and Ginny emotionally and mentally, it was difficult to let himself believe that was enough to overpower the risk of putting her in danger physically. "It seems that she fully understands the risks and repercussions that go along with wanting to be able to see Harry on a weekly basis. And as much as its hard to hear, she was going to see him whether we wanted her to or not. It would be pure cruelty to try and stop her now."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, "How could Harry let her be put in this position. Doesn't he want her to be safe?"

"From what I hear, Harry reacted just as you have when she showed up at his door. Angry, upset, confused...." Lupin looked into the Weasleys eyes very seriously. "Harry loves your daughter. He would never want any harm to come to her. But these are dark and terrible times they have to grow up in, and young or not we cannot stop them from loving each other."

Just as he was finished speaking, the door creaked open and Ginny peaked her head in timidly. Mrs. Weasley stood up from the kitchen table, stalked right over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Oh, Ginny, you are so brave," Mrs. Weasley sobbed.

The top of Ginnys face and head was the only thing visible to Lupin, crushed by her mums hug. She bugged out her eyes at him, her look clearly asking, "How did you do it?"

Lupin just shrugged and smiled a little. He was more convincing than he thought.

* * *

Alright everybody, I dont know if any of my old readers are still around reading this now that Ive updated, but I would like to say Im sorry for leaving you hanging for years. Literally. To all of you new readers, thank you for giving the story a chance and I hope to try to keep posting more regularly. Review please :)


	22. Done and done

**Done and Done**

**Chapter 21**

Ginny walked upstairs in a daze, relieved but still not really sure what happened, or how it happened successfully. Everything went entirely too well but she was not going to complain.

She opened the door to her room and flopped down on her bed with a sigh. It had been a long day so far and it was still barely noon. At least things were going to be easier on them now, aside from the fact that their world was on the brink of a war. Little did she know there as another small war on the rise at that very moment.

"Ginevra Weasley," Ron was leaning against her doorjamb. His voice was low and tremulous, not to mention he never called her by her full name.

"Um… yes, Ronald Weasley…" She proceeded with caution, but still couldn't resist poking fun and using his full name.

She stared him in the eye for a second, knowing was what coming. He almost seemed as if he was beginning to shake right before he burst out, " I would have expected better of you! Sneaking around like that!"

"What? How did you know? It's only just happened five minutes ago…" It was then that she spied the beige colored extendable ear balled up in his fist. "Oh wow… That's real mature! Spying on Mum and Dad? Grow up!" She let out an exasperated laugh.

"This is not funny, and this is not about me!" His face turned redder than usual. "This is about my sister, my best friend, and my girlfriend keeping extremely dangerous secrets from me!"

"Hmm, this all sounds very familiar to me. Do you happen to remember a month ago when I was complaining about you, my best friend, and almost _every person I know_ keeping secrets from me?" She brought up with a sarcastic tone.

"That was not the same."

"Oh, oh. OK. How?"

"Because that was protecting you and Harry and this is not!"

It was getting harder for Ginny to keep her cool. "Do you think I'm an idiot? That I can't keep a secret or take care of myself? You don't understand anything about the situation. Lupin thinks it's a good idea. He even convinced Mum!"

"I do know about the situation," Ron's voice was rising. "I know about you endangering the wizarding world so you can shack up with Harry every week!"

"Keep your voice down, you prat!" She whispered angrily through clenched teeth.

"What? Do you think if our parents know what you're up to they will change their mind?"

She stared at her brother in disbelief. "You've got some nerve. This isn't about secrets at all… It's about me and Harry being alone!"

Ron's face turned its deepest shade of red.

"Well me and Harry love each other very much," she continued, "and we can do whatever we please."

"So you have done it!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "We are adults. We can make our own decisions!"

Ron shook his head furiously in disapproval. "You are not an adult. Neither of you are!"

"In these hard times we are," Ginny reasoned, "We aren't school kids anymore. We are preparing for a war!"

"I bet a whole lot of preparing is going on. I don't know how shagging is going to prepare for anything…"

Ginny had hit her boiling point. "Who do you think I am? What have I done that is so terrible to make you think all we do is have sex? If you are so damn interested then I will tell you exactly what happened! It was my first time. Both of our first times. And I wouldn't change it for all the money in the world! Now you're informed. And for your information, I know you and Hermione have been at it for a while. So I don't think you should talk."

Done and done. He was speechless. This is how most fights with Ron ended. Not to insult his intelligence but he is insanely easy to outsmart in almost any argument. Followed shortly by him huffing and puffing out the door, slamming it behind him.

* * *

Hey all! I know it was a long time again, but not quite the years it took me last time. I know this was a short one but I've had it written for a while and I was waiting to continue it, but I decided to just post it short. Thank you so much to my original reviewers who came back and read the new chapter! (I'm sorry most of you had to re-read the whole thing! But I'm glad you still liked it!) And also a big thanks to my new reviewers too! More romance and danger coming soon friends :)

~Jenna


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